Monthly Archives: August 2007

A Number of Playlists

Posted on August 31, 2007 by arensb

Albums 7, Apoptygma Berzerk 18, Moby 154, Wire 90125, Yes Songs of the Year 1921, The Who ’39, Queen 1959, The Sisters of Mercy 1963, New Order 1981, Public Image Ltd. 1984, New Model Army 2000, Tuxedomoon Others 13, They … Continue reading →

Posted in :-) | 9 Comments

Sony Learns Nothing From Its Mistakes

Posted on August 30, 2007 by arensb

Remember back in 2005, when Sony decided it would be a smashingly brill idea to include a rootkit on one of their CDs? Well, now they’re selling USB keychain drives with built-in fingerprint scanners, and they figured it’d be totally … Continue reading →

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The Further Adventures of Ted “Completely Heterosexual” Haggard

Posted on August 28, 2007 by arensb

Remember Ted Haggard, the right-wing preacher who got busted for having sex with a male prostitute, and buying meth from him? If Bonnie Goldstein at Slate is right, he might be entering the lucrative field of financial shenanigans (a career … Continue reading →

Posted in News | 1 Comment

Retro-Toy

Posted on August 28, 2007 by arensb

One of the departments at work is moving offices around, so there are piles of junk in the hallways, some of it cool, most of it not. One thing I picked up was a Gerber Variable Scale, invented by H. … Continue reading →

Posted in Geek, Math | Tagged , | 1 Comment

/kernel.el

Posted on August 28, 2007 by arensb

From an Ubuntu security advisory: After a standard system upgrade you need to restart emacs to effect the necessary changes. Details follow: Hendrik Tews discovered that emacs21 did not correctly handle certain GIF images. By tricking a user into opening … Continue reading →

Posted in :-), Geek | Tagged , | 2 Comments

China Regulates Reincarnation

Posted on August 22, 2007 by arensb

From Newsweek: China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by … Continue reading →

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Summer Movie

Posted on August 20, 2007 by arensb

I either really really want to see this movie, or I really really don’t. I can’t tell which.

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Another Problem With Searle’s Chinese Room

Posted on August 19, 2007 by arensb

(Update, Aug. 20: John Wilkins, an honest to God philosopher, tells me in the comments that I’m wrong. So take this with a grain of salt.) For those not aware of it, John Searle’s Chinese room is an argument against … Continue reading →

Posted in Geek | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Any Questions?

Posted on August 16, 2007 by arensb

I just watched PZ Meiarz’s talk about mind and brain, and listened to Ron McLeroy’s talk at his church, about the evils of materialism and evolution. I’ve also listened to Kent Hovind‘s schpiel, and seen his show live. One thing … Continue reading →

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Crippling Brains for Jesus

Posted on August 15, 2007 by arensb

Does anyone need more proof that Ron McLeroy, the newly-appointed Texas State Board of Education Chairman, is a superstitious asshat who’s out to cripple the state’s education system? Here’s what he told his church in 2005: “Whether you’re a progressive … Continue reading →

Posted in Creationism, Intelligent Design, Politics, Science | Tagged , , | 4 Comments