Three hours of blogging for your amusement

When I read this, the first thought that went through my head was 'Wow. This would make a really good movie.' Then I read the bottom signature. It's out on the 29th. Beaten to the punch. Its about a man who realised how much of his life is recorded - by cameras, by corporations, by the government - and then challenges himself: how long can he stay off the grid? Can he actually disappear in a Britain where your every movement can be tracked?

He called a private detective agency, gave them his name and a picture, and ran. Then, while on the run, he became genuinely paranoid. Real life events, like the pregnancy of his wife, got in the way of his goal.

A much recommended article.

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Göring: Why, of course, the people don't want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.

Gilbert: "There is one difference. In a democracy the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare war."

Göring: "Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

-- from Gustave Gilbert's Nuremberg Diary.

Well darn. Hermann Goering has a point. Pity he delivers his point in such a way that it is impossible to read it in any voice but that of a Bond Supervillain.

From

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This is a picture of Chauncy Morlan. In the early 1900's, he made a career of being fat. He was a circus performer that people paid money to gawk at - on the very edge of the weight sensibilities of the time. Go on, click the link. That man made money from being that obese. I don't need to comment on this. The comments of that site say all I need to.

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Speaking of comments, this Reddit thread continues from the Magnasanti video posted a few days ago. I've never visited Reddit before, but it seems an interesting idea: a forum that filters out via Wiki-magic all the dull posts. Well, visit it.

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Science has stretched it too far this time. When will enough be enough? When will they stop fiddling with forbidden domains in the pursuit of knowledge? When will it end!?

Its not actually a mutant. Its a Mangalitza, native to Austria and Hungary. The things you learn...

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This was taken during a 6.5 earthquake in Mexico.

I find this picture a little bit... unsettling.

(Wuhuhuh I see what you did there. No, but seriously. It's a rapidly forming cliche that our first reactions to imminent inevitable deaths will be to take pictures of it with our camera-phones.)

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Metro Mutts that ride from station to station, a square kilometre of slum that houses a million people with an economy of $700 a year, a city on fire since 1967, and many many more at this link: the 10 Weirdest Urban Environments.

From Tim.

As a bonus, this is the absolute ultimate in people-squishing: the worlds first practical arcology, a stretch of land so valuable and so poorly regulated that residents simply built on and on and up and up until the whole site was a solid lump of building: the Kowloon Walled City. Truly remarkable. The Wiki page has more info.

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Can you imagine... Korea, without Starcraft II. The Government is giving it a R-18 rating - not strictly because they find it objectionable, but because they're Korean, and it's Starcraft. Its like someone has invented chemical-free crack and unleashed it on the masses. I bet Alice Kingsley made a profit on that too.

I mean, after all, I could release an empty cardboard box with the Starcraft logo on it and still make myself a millionaire in Korea, so there's no wonder the government is taking steps to limit it.

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Speaking of making millions via copycatting the big guys: business magnates and computer simulations suggest that its the best way to make it big yourself. Studies and analyses show that by timing it right and by improving ever so insubstantially on the innovators and field leaders designs, you can pull yourself up quick. All you need to do is find major complaints and address them.

I referenced this yesterday (or the day before) with the Mac/Windows debate. Apple noticed the flaws in the existing computer designs - entry level users found them difficult and scary - and addressed those flaws, trying carefully to visually distinguish themselves in the process.

Then they did it again and again: with clunky, uninteresting mp3 players and the iPod; with heavy, slow laptops and the iMac; with pushbutton phones and the iPhone; with fiddly personal organisers and the iPhone; with unsatisfying and unoriginal handheld gaming and the iPhone; and now the iPad, and whatever it was replacing (crappy advertising, most likely. Slate computers are a logical progression of current trends. The only reason they have bad PR is due to bad PR departments.)

So yeah. Give it a read. Learn, grow as a person. Become whom you wish to be. Nick ideas and mix them into a new form.

With no intended irony with regards to that last paragraph, I have nicked this link from Tim.

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So apparently there's a gene for racism.

Yup, kids with a genetic disorder called Williams Syndrome are moderately retarded, have 'elfin' facial features (not elven, that applies specifically to the elves of Tolkein) and are by all reports, gosh-darn nice. They have outgoing, friendly personalities and -- importantly for Neuroscience -- they aren't racist in the slightest.

So if kids with Williams Syndrome are missing strings of genes, and if kids with Williams Syndrome are racism-free, that means that somewhere in that there string of genes, there's Dalek DNA, encouraging us to kill, maim and slaughter everyone who doesn't look like us.

From Tim.

Also, there's this big long article on Williams that I'm too tired to read right now. But the first page looks interesting! When it isn't 1:30 in the morning I might give it a read. So for the benefit of my future self, here is the link.

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There are many situations in which a child could have three parents. Perhaps one of his parents is remarried, while the other is single. Perhaps his parents are socially liberal, if you know what I mean. Or perhaps,. the child has half of its DNA from his father, half from his mother, and 17 lonely genes from Bob Smith, Wollongong.

These 17 genes would belong to the childs mitochondrial DNA - a series of genes that have no real effect on the child, but turn oxygen into chemical energy for the cells. Your mitochondrial DNA is usually inherited from your mother and have no real impact on your development or traits. That is, unless something's wrong.

If your mother has a problem with her mitochondrial DNA, you may inherit it. This happens only for 1 in 4000 kids, but it means a debilitating, lifelong, uncurable and potentially fatal disease for which there is no cure. Of course, the likelihood of a child getting one of these diseases can be picked up from the mother before the child is even conceived - one of the factors that make these diseases so rare.

To cut to the chase, there is a new genetic technique that allows scientists to slot in a third set of genes into an embryo. This allows mothers with genetic disorders to have healthy kids. Unfortunately, we've all watched Gattaca, and are now suspicious of genetic research. Thus even though science has the capability to give thousands of mothers a chance at having a healthy child, it is unlikely it will ever be implemented.

1:46. School. Bed.