Adam posted a link to an article about new tech developments that will facilitate the building of a space elevator. I have to admit, I’ve always been kind of scared of the idea of a kilometers-long superstrong cable tethered between the earth and something lit a satellite out in space. I mean, what if the cables snap? And yes, they could. The tidal waves, the damage to the Earth, the effects in the short term at least, would be devastating. It sounds like something a bit too risky to just, you know, try on Earth. I’d rather we tried it …
Category: ASIDES
Eugene Mirman Rocks
If you haven’t yet, it’s time to experienceEugene Mirman. And what’s up with MC Hawking’s site? Is it dead? His Wikipedia entry doesn’t say so. I hope not. Nerdcore amuses me.
Minor Blog Change
Those paying attention to the sidebar may notice I’ve hacked out the “currently reading” section. It was giving me too much guilt as I skipped from book to book that wasn’t on my list, plus it wasn’t the most convenient system, as it wouldn’t allow me to build up much of a record of all the books I own. Therefore, I’ve decided to switch over to Librarything, and display random books from my library. Some of them are read, some of them have not been read, and whatever I’m currently reading may or may not show up on the screen… …
ChemoBioMessy
NPR’s got an interview up with the guy who had his blood tested for over 300 different nasty chemicals from the environment on National Geographic’s tab. I actually couldn’t get the interview to load, because RealPlayer sucks for the version of Ubuntu I’m running — I gotta upgrade, and soon! — but from the excerpt I skimmed, which NPR linked to from this page, it looked pretty interesting, in a shuddery kind of way. I don’t even wanna think about it, actually. But… it does look like something worth throwing into a story somewhere, although, as bloody usual, Bruce Sterling …
25 ways to tokenize or alienate a non-white person around you
UPDATE (1 Feb 2012): Here’s an updated link, since the original post is gone. Also, I kinda get that it might look like I missed the point of the original posting, but I don’t think I did. I just think it’s interesting how much of it applies to how all kinds of societies talk about the people who are outsiders the them… ORIGINAL POST: Reading this list, I’m almost inspired to try get a few people to write one up for the Korean setting, titled, “25 ways to tokenize or alienate a non-Korean person around you.” I may well do …
Toxic waste mystery in Ivory Coast
Got some toxic waste? Too costly to dump in Europe? Hey, why not just dump it in Africa? Toxic waste mystery in Ivory Coast deepens – health – 15 September 2006 – New Scientist reports: Seven people are now reported dead, and 30,000 injured, by toxic waste dumped in August at 11 open tips around Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The Ivorian cabinet has resigned over the incident, and on Friday angry crowds burned the house of the port director. But some dumps are still reported to be unfenced, with children playing in them. Treatment of the victims will depend on what …
Dogfight
I remember a couple of hip guys in my high school discussing this film, Dogfight, all those years back. Now I know why. It’s a good movie, if you can track it down. I got a copy released with two other films, for quite cheap. Well-done, humane, and interesting. Someone on IMDB called it a sleeper. I don’t know how successful it finally was, but I did find this discussion of how books and films become sleeper hits interesting.
at xkcd
Check out this clever comic on America’s Senatorial IDiot problem.
Upcoming book on expats in Korea
Over at Galbijim there’s a post on a book project. The content (including text and photos) is to be produced by expats living in Korea and reflecting on various aspects of their lives here. We’re looking for selected articles written by 30-40 expats living in Korea, where they write about something unique to the culture that they love. For example, I’ll probably write about falling in love with galbijjim for the first time, the culture street in Daegu full of galbijjim restaurants, etc…Someone else might want to write about their hobby and cultural experiences with Korean archery. Or their enjoyment …
Get Outta Here, Beanpole
A listmate from a discussion list for the magazine I write a column for, Cahoots, posted a link to an interesting article: Reuters carried a story titled Ban on skinny models shocks fashion world. The logic is not simply that teenagers emulate what they see on the runway, and go bulimic or anorexic as a result… but rather, it’s just that they want to portray “healthy body images” at the government-sponsored Madrid fashion week. You know, you have to sit back and think about just how dysfunctional your civilization is when the demand that its iconic representatives of womanhood (which …