Hoo boy, just when you thought your tabs were cleared, you discover that yeah, sure, the tabs in your main browser window is gone, but you forgot about a) 4 other windows full of tabs themselves, and b) circumstances of the time bringing a flurry of interesting stuff you should put out there. So, I’m here to put out some more. I’ll try to classify them as I go along ;
Technology
A faster and more compact Set : For Java geeks and Topic Mappers alike, but mostly for those with both fetishes. And older post I stumbled upon once again and was meaning to look into. One day. Really soon now. Ish.
New Horizons : I’m a bit of an astronomy nerd, so what’s better than the combination of rockets, science and star trekking with the fastest ever made human object!
Open Mind Common Sense : A delightfully fuzzy Semantic Web project that Danny Ayers pointed me to. It’s ontologies with Social engineering. Great stuff!
Pegatron Tegra : Sexy little computer to chuck in the corner to do your digital bidding. Pure lust!
Climate change and politics
Think tanks, oil money and black ops : Where do all the climate change skeptics come from? You’d be surprised. Or not.
The Guardian responds : The English newspaper The Guardian had a series of investigational reports over the alleged scandal of the leaked email of the University of East Anglia, a series of reports they have been severely criticized for by the people involved, ranging from poor reporting to outright lying, pretty serious business for an otherwise respected and large newspaper. The Guardian has posted a reply (at the critics blog, no less). Do read the comments, though, as they are perhaps more important and interesting.
LeakGate : Scientists fight back : Tim Lambert, Aussie vegemite and all-round good-guy, follows up on the many distortions made by journalist Jonathan Leake of the Sunday Times over time, and he points us to this exclusive 31-page complaints letter by climate researcher Simon Lewis. Heady stuff! Will the Sunday Times respond in the same manner or at all as the Guardian above?
Health and fraud
Quack Miranda Warning : If you read this quite common warning on your medication or supplements, beware. And, a good introduction (reading the comments) on where this expression comes from.
Snake Oil : A beautiful infographic from Information is Beautiful, showing a vertical bubble-chart of peer-reviewed double-blind tests on various compounds and organics that you mostly find in supplements; what is proven to show any workings, and what is, essentially, snake oil. I love this one!
Religion and philosophy
Does God have a future? : You know, I’m really starting a man-crush on Sam Harris after this; what style and impeccable delivery, not to mention that he actually understand both the science and the philosophical implications of both. But Deepak Chopra? The opposite; he’s the biggest woo-meister of them all, arrogant and testy, wielding the power of fluffy words and interruption of others. People respect that? I’m shocked.
The God of the old testament : A rather famous quote (and a video of him reading it) by Richard Dawkins, here put in context of biblical quotes to underline what is being said.
Indian skeptic challenges guru to kill him on live TV : Well, kill him with Tantric Magic, as it were. A delightful trip down the staircase of the insanity of what humans think they can do and the brave (in this case Samal Edamaruku, the president of the Indian Rationalists Association) that stays still and proves them terribly, humorously wrong. I giggled through most of this. There’s even a second part over here where the Tantric is doing the whole “terrible ritual under a full moon with a scepter with feathers and fearsome chanting, and you know, you should be really, really scared, why aren’t you dead already!? Just die, will you! Bugger.”
Supersessionism : Word of the day : “Supersessionism and replacement theology or fulfillment theology are Christian interpretations of New Testament claims“
Off kilter
Kirsten Flagstad : Arguably one of the absolute best opera singers there ever was. And, she was Norwegian. Did I mention I’m an opera-buff?
Ancient Literature : A long list of reasonably known ancient literature. Brilliant if you’re bored.
Circumference of the Earth and the Holocene geographical epoch : A link to the Wolfram-Alpha answer to the circumference of the Earth, and to a WikiPedia article on the Holocene. I’ll tell you all about why I’m reading up on this in another post in the future, but a hint is that you might see me doing some local embarrassing sciency stuff soon. I can’t wait.
Pruzy’s Pot : Uh, a somewhat gross unexplainable short-story of sorts. You just have to hear it, I guess. I will have nothing more to do with it.