"Prof Nutt and his team are concentrating their efforts on benzodiazepines, of which diazepam, the chief ingredient of Valium is one."
In other words, let's invent another Happy Pill that will make big profit for Big Pharmco. And we'll call it an "alcohol substitute" because alcohol is well-known as the active ingredient in alcoholism, and you're in favor of a cure for alcoholism, right?
The novel Tool of the Trade by Joe Haldeman concerns the discovery of a specific ultrasonic frequency which induces a state of extreme hypnotic suggestibility -- in effect, a mind-control sound.
Hypnotic suggestibility is different, of course, from electronic pleasure (see Wirehead), but there are interesting correspondences.
A quick nap when I need it (which is most afternoons) makes a big difference in my productivity. I totally agree with your statement:
I frequently simply go to sleep if I feel like it.... I wish this was accepted practice in workplaces because I'm sure productivity would rise overall.
My dad was a programmer for the Star Tribune, back in the seventies and eighties.
Two things he said stick in my mind.
1. He had his own office, and sometimes he'd put up his feet and stare off into space. He told me that people passing by his office assumed that he was "doing nothing." But, he told me, he wasn't doing "nothing", he was very much doing something: thinking.
2. When he got, say, a directive from On High that he must "write a new program for the secretaries", the first thing he did was go and sit down with the secretaries, ask them about their work, and stick around for a while to actually watch them work. He called this the "going native" phase (he took his degree in anthropology). If he'd started coding on the basis of the directive from On High, the end result would be something the secretaries didn't need and wouldn't use.
Personally though I've got this weird handicap in that I can't seem to make good coffee if my life depended on it.
Try a different preparation method, or methods plural, until you find a method that works for you. Also, try different beans, and different degrees of grind.
For example, get an espresso maker, if you don't already have one.
Or do what I do: get a Turkish-style brass pot, and very finely milled Turkish-style coffee, which cooks up thick-as-sludge coffee delight. (I add ground cinnamon, sometimes cardamom and nutmeg, before cooking.) Yum!
In any case, "may be nitrogen present in the air" is an absurd warning.
Agreed. Vague warnings are absurd or worse. The warning should be more descriptive, e.g. "dangerous volume of nitrogen may be present if gas tanks leak."
Come to think of it... "may be nitrogen present in the air" is doubly absurd. Nitrogen normally makes up 78% of the Earth's atmosphere by volume. "May be nitrogen" implies the possibility that there may not be nitrogen in the air -- and if there is no nitrogen in the air, what the hell is taking its place, and why?
OR the helium tank may crush a few of them as it is cruising through them, the walls, the cars in the parking lot and the cell phone distracted mega-SUV that just happens to be driving by...
Indeed. Wikipedia states:
"Since the liquid to gas expansion ratio of [nitrogen] is 1:694, a tremendous amount of force can be generated if liquid nitrogen is rapidly vaporized. In an incident in 2006 at Texas A&M University, the pressure-relief devices of a tank of liquid nitrogen were sealed with brass plugs. As a result, the tank failed catastrophically, and exploded. The force of the explosion was sufficient to propel the tank through the ceiling immediately above it." Link
For one of the facilities where I work, I had to take site-specific safety training before they would issue me a key. Included in the training was a note that there "may be nitrogen present in the air". This was included due to LN2 tanks being present in the basement, but it's a sorry state of affairs when you have to warn people that they MAY inhale some nitrogen.
May be a legitimate concern. LN2 (liquid nitrogen) tanks might leak, causing an asphyxiation hazard.
Same with helium tanks. Break the valve, and you might suffocate an entire room filled with balloon-twisting clowns and the children they were entertaining....
Like the United Nations. But run by geeks, with member states actually paying their dues in a timely manner. Also, not despised and feared by the citizenry.
Don't forget a healthy dose of bloodthirst. Europeans (or in other words, Christians) have murdered more than anyone else in the history of mankind. All the while exporting the belief of "turning the other cheek".
I hear what you're saying, and while I'm sympathetic to your ideals, I'm not moved by your argument.
If Europeans/Christians have murdered more than anyone else in the history of mankind, it's because they had the means and opportunity.
Bloodthirsty monsters of men have existed throughout history across all peoples: this is no exclusive curse of Europeans. If anyone else had obtained the means of conquest sooner -- the Mongols, the Aztecs, the Zulus, the Maori, whoever -- they would have done the same.
A similar problem presents itself in the guise of "White men traded in black slaves, therefore black people are exclusively victims." Not so: black Africans were sold by other black Africans to white slavers.
Consider also that slavery was abolished by white Christians, e.g. Quakers.
Underlying all violence is this essential dilemma: how are tolerant men to be tolerant of the intolerant? How shall the men of peace survive the men of violence?
Like all new technology, you can safely say that it wasn't invented by black people. Or by women.
Wrong.
Charles Richard Drew (3 June 1904 – 1 April 1950) was an African American physician and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II, saving thousands of lives of the Allied forces.
They say that "one drop of black blood" makes you black -- therefore we are all black.
In the words of Jesus: "Love... thy neighbor as thyself." I'm pretty sure he included your dark-skinned -- yet identically red-blooded -- neighbors in that assertion.
As for why Europeans conquered the world, see Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. (Short answer: environmental factors.)
Or better yet lobby for introducing mandatory implantation of filter chips directly into children's brain; tracking their movements, emotions and thoughts.
Damn -- you beat me to it.
Okay, mister smarty pants. I'll see your brain chip, and raise you a remote-control kill-switch.
A theory should remain a theory until it can stand up... to the scrutiny of skepticism...
No, a theory should remain a theory forever -- otherwise theory becomes dogma.
Some theories are more reliable and better established than others. But all knowledge is waiting to be disproved -- at least, that's what I remember of Karl Popper's falsifiability.
Theories should, of course, be subjected to the scrutiny of skepticism, and replaced, where possible, with better theories.
... man can fairly easily and inadvertently change the face of the earth.
Man also deliberately changes the face of the earth in an adverse manner, for purposes of warfare. In the ancient world, invading your neighbor's territory and destroying crops was a routine practice. See also: Salting the earth, Entomological warfare, Weather warfare.
If you are shy and afraid of public speaking, don't despair. Anyone can learn public speaking -- even the shy.
I speak from experience. I was profoundly, painfully shy as a child, as a teenager, into my adult years. At the age of nineteen, I looked at my shyness and said to myself, "I want something more." So I set challenges for myself: "Go to parties and meet people." "Get up on stage and sing." And so on. This was not easy, but I made myself do it. Over the years (I'm now approaching 49) these skills gradually became second nature to me.
Shyness continues to inform my character: I'm still something like what I was before. But I'm also something more than what I was before: I'm a man who can stand up in front of strangers (or friends, for that matter), and hold forth on this or that subject, without the fear and agony that accompanied my childhood shyness.
Indeed, public speaking can be a rush. Turn that fear into an adrenaline buzz! You can do it.
Several months ago, Boing Boing got a new layout. The old layout worked fine, was easy to read, easy to scroll. The new Boing Boing stutters when scrolled... it's annoyingly easy to lose your place and scroll way down or way up by mistake. Grrr....
Slashdot Mirror
Made me laugh!
"Prof Nutt and his team are concentrating their efforts on benzodiazepines, of which diazepam, the chief ingredient of Valium is one."
In other words, let's invent another Happy Pill that will make big profit for Big Pharmco. And we'll call it an "alcohol substitute" because alcohol is well-known as the active ingredient in alcoholism, and you're in favor of a cure for alcoholism, right?
Good thing they're not calling it a "Valium analog", what with Valium's well-known and deserved reputation for causing addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal.
See also Observation of molecular orbital gating.
The novel Tool of the Trade by Joe Haldeman concerns the discovery of a specific ultrasonic frequency which induces a state of extreme hypnotic suggestibility -- in effect, a mind-control sound.
Hypnotic suggestibility is different, of course, from electronic pleasure (see Wirehead), but there are interesting correspondences.
"We're All Marxists Now" used to be a battle cry, or a complaint, or something.
But that's old news. "We're All Temps Now" better describes our condition.
A quick nap when I need it (which is most afternoons) makes a big difference in my productivity. I totally agree with your statement:
My dad was a programmer for the Star Tribune, back in the seventies and eighties.
Two things he said stick in my mind.
1. He had his own office, and sometimes he'd put up his feet and stare off into space. He told me that people passing by his office assumed that he was "doing nothing." But, he told me, he wasn't doing "nothing", he was very much doing something: thinking.
2. When he got, say, a directive from On High that he must "write a new program for the secretaries", the first thing he did was go and sit down with the secretaries, ask them about their work, and stick around for a while to actually watch them work. He called this the "going native" phase (he took his degree in anthropology). If he'd started coding on the basis of the directive from On High, the end result would be something the secretaries didn't need and wouldn't use.
Try a different preparation method, or methods plural, until you find a method that works for you. Also, try different beans, and different degrees of grind.
For example, get an espresso maker, if you don't already have one.
Or do what I do: get a Turkish-style brass pot, and very finely milled Turkish-style coffee, which cooks up thick-as-sludge coffee delight. (I add ground cinnamon, sometimes cardamom and nutmeg, before cooking.) Yum!
Agreed. Vague warnings are absurd or worse. The warning should be more descriptive, e.g. "dangerous volume of nitrogen may be present if gas tanks leak."
Come to think of it ... "may be nitrogen present in the air" is doubly absurd. Nitrogen normally makes up 78% of the Earth's atmosphere by volume. "May be nitrogen" implies the possibility that there may not be nitrogen in the air -- and if there is no nitrogen in the air, what the hell is taking its place, and why?
Indeed. Wikipedia states:
"Since the liquid to gas expansion ratio of [nitrogen] is 1:694, a tremendous amount of force can be generated if liquid nitrogen is rapidly vaporized. In an incident in 2006 at Texas A&M University, the pressure-relief devices of a tank of liquid nitrogen were sealed with brass plugs. As a result, the tank failed catastrophically, and exploded. The force of the explosion was sufficient to propel the tank through the ceiling immediately above it."
Link
This is true, and I should have stated as much.
Gas tank leakage (nitrogen, helium, etc.) in a confined space can cause rapid oxygen displacement. Lack of oxygen causes suffocation.
May be a legitimate concern. LN2 (liquid nitrogen) tanks might leak, causing an asphyxiation hazard.
Same with helium tanks. Break the valve, and you might suffocate an entire room filled with balloon-twisting clowns and the children they were entertaining ....
Like the United Nations. But run by geeks, with member states actually paying their dues in a timely manner. Also, not despised and feared by the citizenry.
I hear what you're saying, and while I'm sympathetic to your ideals, I'm not moved by your argument.
If Europeans/Christians have murdered more than anyone else in the history of mankind, it's because they had the means and opportunity.
Bloodthirsty monsters of men have existed throughout history across all peoples: this is no exclusive curse of Europeans. If anyone else had obtained the means of conquest sooner -- the Mongols, the Aztecs, the Zulus, the Maori, whoever -- they would have done the same.
A similar problem presents itself in the guise of "White men traded in black slaves, therefore black people are exclusively victims." Not so: black Africans were sold by other black Africans to white slavers.
Consider also that slavery was abolished by white Christians, e.g. Quakers.
Underlying all violence is this essential dilemma: how are tolerant men to be tolerant of the intolerant? How shall the men of peace survive the men of violence?
Wrong.
Charles Richard Drew (3 June 1904 – 1 April 1950) was an African American physician and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II, saving thousands of lives of the Allied forces.
They say that "one drop of black blood" makes you black -- therefore we are all black.
In the words of Jesus: "Love ... thy neighbor as thyself." I'm pretty sure he included your dark-skinned -- yet identically red-blooded -- neighbors in that assertion.
As for why Europeans conquered the world, see Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. (Short answer: environmental factors.)
Damn -- you beat me to it.
Okay, mister smarty pants. I'll see your brain chip, and raise you a remote-control kill-switch.
A theory should remain a theory until it can stand up ... to the scrutiny of skepticism ...
No, a theory should remain a theory forever -- otherwise theory becomes dogma.
Some theories are more reliable and better established than others. But all knowledge is waiting to be disproved -- at least, that's what I remember of Karl Popper's falsifiability.
Theories should, of course, be subjected to the scrutiny of skepticism, and replaced, where possible, with better theories.
Man also deliberately changes the face of the earth in an adverse manner, for purposes of warfare. In the ancient world, invading your neighbor's territory and destroying crops was a routine practice. See also: Salting the earth, Entomological warfare, Weather warfare.
If you are shy and afraid of public speaking, don't despair. Anyone can learn public speaking -- even the shy.
I speak from experience. I was profoundly, painfully shy as a child, as a teenager, into my adult years. At the age of nineteen, I looked at my shyness and said to myself, "I want something more." So I set challenges for myself: "Go to parties and meet people." "Get up on stage and sing." And so on. This was not easy, but I made myself do it. Over the years (I'm now approaching 49) these skills gradually became second nature to me.
Shyness continues to inform my character: I'm still something like what I was before. But I'm also something more than what I was before: I'm a man who can stand up in front of strangers (or friends, for that matter), and hold forth on this or that subject, without the fear and agony that accompanied my childhood shyness.
Indeed, public speaking can be a rush. Turn that fear into an adrenaline buzz! You can do it.
Ah, the Flying Wing, ya gotta love it. Let's set the Wayback Machine to 1935 ....
Horten Ho-2 Flying Wing Test Flight 1935
Made me chuckle. Damn the "Offtopic" naysayers -- keep the humor coming!
Good post.
Is this a parody of some text that I don't recognize?
I use a click-to-flash plugin so I never actually see flash objects unless I click on them.
This is useful info -- thanks!
i think you'll find that most of the flash on boing boing is inline video. what makes web pages stutter and scroll badly is css.
Thanks, this is useful info.
Nothing bogs down a site like Flash.
Case in point: Boing Boing.
Several months ago, Boing Boing got a new layout. The old layout worked fine, was easy to read, easy to scroll. The new Boing Boing stutters when scrolled ... it's annoyingly easy to lose your place and scroll way down or way up by mistake. Grrr ....