January 2011
Why Almost Everything You Hear About Medicine Is... →
In just the last two months, two pillars of preventive medicine fell. A major study concluded there’s no good evidence that statins (drugs like Lipitor and Crestor) help people with no history of heart disease. The study, by the Cochrane Collaboration, a global consortium of biomedical experts, was based on an evaluation of 14 individual trials with 34,272 patients. Cost of statins: more than...
Lifting the Lid on WikiLeaks: An Inside Look at... →
The Guardian had felt duped when Assange expanded the circle of media organizations involved in the publication of the Iraq material. It also appeared that a second copy of the cables was being circulated, and that it might not be possible to control its publication. An Icelandic WikiLeaks supporter who had been asked to load the material into a database had turned it over to British journalist...
Demand Media's Planet of the Algorithms →
Over the past decade, Reese has quietly pioneered a new breed of media company, colloquially called a “content mill.” Where traditional media companies rely on creative professionals to generate ideas aimed at loyal repeat readers, content mills are far more transient. They rely on crowd-sourced stories and search engine optimization, the art of gaming online search results to...
Life in a cold climate →
In Sweden people are taught from early childhood how to dress to prevent hypothermia and frostbite. In winter a large warm overcoat with a hat and gloves in the pockets is de rigueur. From December 1 until March 31 winter tyres with a minimum tread depth of 3mm must be fitted to cars. Public transport is expected to run as normal, to the minute. If you’re standing around on a train platform at...
Pirating the 2011 Oscars →
I look forward to these posts every year.
The Worst Case →
The legal debate surrounding repeal is complicated and multi-dimensional. But part of it revolves around a novel philosophical twist: a distinction between activity and inactivity that, repeal advocates say, makes the insurance requirement an illegitimate exercise of federal authority. It’s an arcane legal point, but, suddenly, a consequential one, and not just because of its relevance to...
MF Doom - “Hoe Cakes”
Pushnote →
Did Stephen Fry seriously just launch a global commenting service? Why?
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Dickenuendo
Me: Hello!
Me: How the Dickens are you?
H: Need a Dicken!
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My World
Where I work (telemarketing), I look at a database of phone numbers all day long. In the database, I make notes on various records throughout the day. The database is stored on an internal network. I also copy these notes on to an Outlook calendar on the same internal network. (The notes are just appointments.) I also copy them into a paper diary that never leaves the office. At the end of the...
Emphasis Update and Source →
Double-tap the Shift key. Paragraph symbols ¶ will appear next to each paragraph — just as they did in the original version. Click any paragraph symbol to generate a link to that paragraph. The link will appear in your browser’s address bar.
Michael Donohoe on the NYT just blew my entire mind. This is really, really awesome.
Every website online: implement this, please.
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Pokemon *I* Invented While drunk
hurfaghaaalllbat aghbl hngh arufsquirtachu
"A 98 year old woman in the UK wrote this to her... →
Edit: This letter’s true origin. (Thanks, that guy.)
“In several experiments, researchers found that men who sniffed drops of women’s...”
– Chemical Signals in Women’s Tears Dampen Arousal, Scientists Say
I can corroborate this.
Some day Anonymous will meet its match:
nickdouglas:
Any organization that operates without a public website.
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Want to feel old? This song is 14 fucking years...
Hey fuck you, bus drivers that complain when people pay with paper money.
Hey fuck you, bus drivers that complain when people pay with paper money.
Never Let Me Go
I really enjoyed the film adaptation of “Never Let Me Go” (which was also only the second film I’ve watched in HD1, and it won’t be the last). Enough to want to write a little about it, anyway. Not a review, just some notes.
I really liked the novel. I’m no book critic (or movie critic) but Ishiguro has a great style that’s really easy to get absorbed in, and...
Never Let Me Go
I really enjoyed the film adaptation of “Never Let Me Go” (which was also only the second film I’ve watched in HD1, and it won’t be the last). Enough to want to write a little about it, anyway. Not a review, just some notes.
I really liked the novel. I’m no book critic (or movie critic) but Ishiguro has a great style that’s really easy to get absorbed in, and...
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New Year's Resolution:
Bang my wife.
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures →
I do hope none of my British chums missed the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures.
