The concept of MyDeathSpace.com is pretty creepy and something about these newsworthy deaths being reported on it makes it even creepier.
March 31, 2006
March 27, 2006
Clavia Nord Electro goes 3.0
The Clavia Nord Electro has been updated to OS version 3.0 and the update includes two new piano samples. You can get more information from Clavia’s site. I will write again after I’ve updated and tried it out.
March 26, 2006
Incompetence
Why is there so much incompetence in the workforce and why is it so easy for everybody to see except for the incompetent person? The psychology study Unskilled and Unawre of It goes a long way in explaing the phenomenon. The net: the nature of incompetence is a lack of awareness and paradoxically, by becoming more compentent, you become more aware of your incompentance. The more skilled you are, the better judge you are of your own ability.
March 21, 2006
“HOP” Level
New York magazine has a feature about the (allegedly) growing conspiracy theories surrounding the 9/11 attacks. I say allegedly, because I personally haven’t heard too much of it in a long time. One of the most amusing parts of the article is the section on ‘HOP’ levels, namely the schools of thought about the 9/11 attacks, and that it falls into four categories:
- The Official Story
- The Incompetence Theory
- LIHOP for “Let It Happen On Purpose”
- MIHOP for “Made It Happen On Purpose”
After reading the website UnansweredQuestions.org, I’m suprised there aren’t more theories.
Wasted Power
Many electronic devices aren’t ever really turned ‘off’ so to speak. A small trickle of power is necessary for them to display the time or jump to life on command. This ‘standby power’ is minute taken alone, but when everybody owns the same kind of devices, it begins to add up quickly to a great use of energy for no real purpose.
March 18, 2006
Spamtastic
Spamusement.com contains a bunch of cartoons inspired by Spam subject lines. These are actually pretty funny sometimes.
March 17, 2006
Indecency Fines
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog has a rundown of the latest fines imposed by the FCC. The agency is on a role and is using what appears to be a rather arbitrary system for finding fault and assessing fines.
March 12, 2006
Impeachment
I honestly thought that the Harper’s editorial that ran last month, “The Case for Impeachment”, was really nothing but some wishful thinking on the part of the authors. However, it appears that things have gone past the wishful thinking stage into real action. Congressman John Conyors has two blog entries on his site. The first is about the call for censure introduced by Conyors. Senator Feingold has joined the call for censure. Secondly, the call for a committee to investigate impeachable offenses has grown to support from 30 congressmen.
March 9, 2006
Fact-Checking Government Statistics
John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics is a monthly newsletter which provides alternative analysis of government statisitcs. The newsletter itself costs a steep $175.00/year, so I won’t be subscribing. However, he provides some interesting notes on the structure and flaws in reporting of unemployment, federal deficit, consumer price index, and gross domestic product. Granted, if you have a background in economics (even at an undergraduate level) you’ve already heard about many of the flaws discussed in your macro or even principles class. If you don’t have a background in economics, I recommend reading them even if this kind of stuff makes your eyes glaze over – people really do make decisions based on these figures (your employer for example) and it’s important for you to be aware of them. Here’s an interview with the author of the newletter and articles.(found via Metafilter)
March 7, 2006
Whit Stillman
I have often wondered what happened to Whit Stillman, director of Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco. After making these three literate and charming movees, he totally dropped out and was rumored to be living in Paris. It turns out that he’s done very little since then, and he’s a little embarassed about it. Better than Fudge recently posted an (exclusive?) interview with the director, in which Stillman discusses his career and what he’s done since.