the Problems of Consciousness from David Chess and collaborators.
“Consciousness, or subjectivity, or the inwardness of human experience, or whatever we are going to call it, is a unique
problem. In fact, many of the features that make it unique are the very features that make it a problem in the first place.” This is tentative, but it’s good to see an attempt at serious philosophical musing on the web.
Advertising nonconsumption:
“Inspired at least partially by the Viridians and AdBusters and them sorts of folks, I thought it’d be fun, and
possibly even productive, to speculate about what would result if someone seriously tried to use all available
advertising and media tricks to produce non-consumption behavior of various kinds. This is a result of that sort
of woolgathering.”
“Most people don’t have the time to send these badly needed messages, because
they are doing other things. But our computers have the time, and want to go to work
for you. If you join us, we’ll send you proposed email letters. You can tell us to send
each one for you, and we send it out over your return address.”
Protest.Net: A calendar of protest, meetings, and conferences.
“Protest.Net is a site to help progressive activists by providing a central place where the times and locations of protests and
meetings can be posted. I can’t possibly keep up with all the actions, so if you find about a protest or meeting, please post that
information to protest.net.”
Science — Hofstadter 281 (5376): 512 Douglas Hofstadter worries about the future of rational inquiry. This is not so new — from July of 1998 — but the concerns are worthy of ongoing attention even in this brief-attention-span post-MTV world. I’m not sure, however, I totally agree with Hofstadter. While I’m a scientist, I am exposing my children to the joys of the pseudo-scientific, the eerie and unexplained. These two are not necessarily dichotomous.
-(SCRIBBLE)-(JOTTING)(weblogging: lessons learned) Some of this is trivially obvious, some worth listening to even if it has a chip on its shoulder.
beebo.org: metalog
The most
frequently
linked-to sites, as
selected by over
250 weblogs.
Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names
“Believe it or not, some chemists do have a sense of humour, and this page is a testament to that. Here we’ll show you some real molecules that
have unusual, ridiculous or downright silly names.”
“Most people don’t have the time to send these badly needed messages, because
they are doing other things. But our computers have the time, and want to go to work
for you. If you join us, we’ll send you proposed email letters. You can tell us to send
each one for you, and we send it out over your return address.”
Protest.Net: A calendar of protest, meetings, and conferences.
“Protest.Net is a site to help progressive activists by providing a central place where the times and locations of protests and
meetings can be posted. I can’t possibly keep up with all the actions, so if you find about a protest or meeting, please post that
information to protest.net.”
Science — Hofstadter 281 (5376): 512 Douglas Hofstadter worries about the future of rational inquiry. This is not so new — from July of 1998 — but the concerns are worthy of ongoing attention even in this brief-attention-span post-MTV world. I’m not sure, however, I totally agree with Hofstadter. While I’m a scientist, I am exposing my children to the joys of the pseudo-scientific, the eerie and unexplained. These two are not necessarily dichotomous.
-(SCRIBBLE)-(JOTTING)(weblogging: lessons learned) Some of this is trivially obvious, some worth listening to even if it has a chip on its shoulder.
beebo.org: metalog
The most
frequently
linked-to sites, as
selected by over
250 weblogs.
Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names
“Believe it or not, some chemists do have a sense of humour, and this page is a testament to that. Here we’ll show you some real molecules that
have unusual, ridiculous or downright silly names.”
Update on Unabomber’s appeal (from Sacramento Bee)
Update on Unabomber’s appeal (from Sacramento Bee)
Looked around at some other people’s logs, and some logs of logs, this evening. One conclusion: very few people out there have anything approaching a clever NAME for their weblog. (Not that “Follow Me Here” is anything to write home about…) Another: it really is getting to be a movement, or a community, out there. Not necessary in a laudable sense; there’s something really incestuous about people’s reciprocal pointers to the other weblogs they each follow. Everyone seems to circulate the same stories, which I won’t dignify by recycling here. Perhaps they were interesting the first time they were referenced. Must be sort of like the frenzied efforts reporters take not to get scooped. The important thing, it would seem, is to find something original that your readers would find enlightening and/or enlivening…
Looked around at some other people’s logs, and some logs of logs, this evening. One conclusion: very few people out there have anything approaching a clever NAME for their weblog. (Not that “Follow Me Here” is anything to write home about…) Another: it really is getting to be a movement, or a community, out there. Not necessary in a laudable sense; there’s something really incestuous about people’s reciprocal pointers to the other weblogs they each follow. Everyone seems to circulate the same stories, which I won’t dignify by recycling here. Perhaps they were interesting the first time they were referenced. Must be sort of like the frenzied efforts reporters take not to get scooped. The important thing, it would seem, is to find something original that your readers would find enlightening and/or enlivening…
End of the galaxy (but don’t hold your breath)
“It will be a major car wreck, and we’re the
Yugo in this one,” said Ohio astrophysicist Chris Mihos.
Street Gang Dynamics, by Steve Nawojczyk, gangwar.com …including a primer on the interpretation of graffiti.
Rapture Index How is the world doing today on each of forty-five millenial indicators? The author of this website apparently finds that these indicate how close the Biblical “rapture” is…
Who Are the Tibetan Lamas? by Matt Alsdorf
Last week the Karmapa Lama, a 14-year-old Tibetan
Buddhist Leader, fled to India from Chinese-controlled Tibet.
Five years ago, the Chinese government sparked controversy
by nominating a different boy for the position of Panchen
Lama than the one the Dalai Lama had chosen. Who are all
these lamas?
End of the galaxy (but don’t hold your breath)
“It will be a major car wreck, and we’re the
Yugo in this one,” said Ohio astrophysicist Chris Mihos.
Street Gang Dynamics, by Steve Nawojczyk, gangwar.com …including a primer on the interpretation of graffiti.
Rapture Index How is the world doing today on each of forty-five millenial indicators? The author of this website apparently finds that these indicate how close the Biblical “rapture” is…
Who Are the Tibetan Lamas? by Matt Alsdorf
Last week the Karmapa Lama, a 14-year-old Tibetan
Buddhist Leader, fled to India from Chinese-controlled Tibet.
Five years ago, the Chinese government sparked controversy
by nominating a different boy for the position of Panchen
Lama than the one the Dalai Lama had chosen. Who are all
these lamas?
The Palindromist Magazine: “a journal for those who write — and read — palindromes.”
Salon Technology | Fear of links
“The occasion was a panel discussion at a new media conference at the UC-Berkeley Journalism School earlier this year, and the message was clear: People who provide links to other people are performing a low, menial task that any boob can handle… Well, I beg to differ. And, more importantly, the behavior of millions of Web users suggests that they place an extremely high value on the reliable, timely provision of useful — or quirky, or overlooked — links.”
BBC News | UK | ‘Spy in the sky’ targets speeders
“An electronic speed regulator which
uses satellite signals to stop cars
breaking limits could soon become
compulsory in British vehicles.”
Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII
“Warning: Accessing this site automatically opens a file for you at FBI
headquarters. This warning, of course, comes too late. Sorry about that.”
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
This site contains all kinds of information about the village with the longest name in Britain, such as how it got its name, what
there is to see and places to stay, and how to pronounce it.
The Palindromist Magazine: “a journal for those who write — and read — palindromes.”
Salon Technology | Fear of links
“The occasion was a panel discussion at a new media conference at the UC-Berkeley Journalism School earlier this year, and the message was clear: People who provide links to other people are performing a low, menial task that any boob can handle… Well, I beg to differ. And, more importantly, the behavior of millions of Web users suggests that they place an extremely high value on the reliable, timely provision of useful — or quirky, or overlooked — links.”
BBC News | UK | ‘Spy in the sky’ targets speeders
“An electronic speed regulator which
uses satellite signals to stop cars
breaking limits could soon become
compulsory in British vehicles.”
Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII
“Warning: Accessing this site automatically opens a file for you at FBI
headquarters. This warning, of course, comes too late. Sorry about that.”
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
This site contains all kinds of information about the village with the longest name in Britain, such as how it got its name, what
there is to see and places to stay, and how to pronounce it.
Trance-Formation of America: “The lives of Mark Phillips and Cathy O’Brien and their involvement with project MK-Ultra are fully exposed in “Trance-Formation of America”. This book is the documented autobiography of a victim of government mind control. Cathy O’Brien is the only vocal and recovered survivor of the Central Intelligence Agency’s MK-Ultra Project Monarch operation.”
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division – dihydrogen monoxide info
A clever site, with current facts and research results, contamination alerts and warnings on dangerous uses of Dihydrogen Monoxide.
Journey to the West, a virtual comic book about a Zen coyote and his adventures in the deserts of the American West
“Jack Crazyquilt moved back to the Southwestern desert to get some peace. But life is never that simple, even for a Zen coyote. After being joined by a paranoid fox, a philosophical alien, and a cynical Southern belle, Jack decides to leap headfirst into the chaos — much to the chagrin of his drunken Zen master.”
Drug money
How the White House secretly hooked network TV on its anti-drug message (from Salon).
Can Psychology Cure Racism? by Peter D. Kramer and Walter Reich: about the ongoing tension between the “mad” and the “bad” in society’s approach to objectionable behavior. Peter Kramer is the psychiatrist author of “Listening to Prozac”, and Walter Reich a distinguished professor of psychiatry and Reich’s former supervisor.
Trance-Formation of America: “The lives of Mark Phillips and Cathy O’Brien and their involvement with project MK-Ultra are fully exposed in “Trance-Formation of America”. This book is the documented autobiography of a victim of government mind control. Cathy O’Brien is the only vocal and recovered survivor of the Central Intelligence Agency’s MK-Ultra Project Monarch operation.”
Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division – dihydrogen monoxide info
A clever site, with current facts and research results, contamination alerts and warnings on dangerous uses of Dihydrogen Monoxide.
Journey to the West, a virtual comic book about a Zen coyote and his adventures in the deserts of the American West
“Jack Crazyquilt moved back to the Southwestern desert to get some peace. But life is never that simple, even for a Zen coyote. After being joined by a paranoid fox, a philosophical alien, and a cynical Southern belle, Jack decides to leap headfirst into the chaos — much to the chagrin of his drunken Zen master.”
Drug money
How the White House secretly hooked network TV on its anti-drug message (from Salon).
Can Psychology Cure Racism? by Peter D. Kramer and Walter Reich: about the ongoing tension between the “mad” and the “bad” in society’s approach to objectionable behavior. Peter Kramer is the psychiatrist author of “Listening to Prozac”, and Walter Reich a distinguished professor of psychiatry and Reich’s former supervisor.
How to read a paper by Trisha Greenhalgh et al (from the eBMJ): Getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about); Assessing the methodological quality of published papers; Statistics for the non-statistician; “Significant” relations and their pitfalls; Papers that report drug trials; Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests; Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses); Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses); Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research).
Play “5’s” (from the eBMJ):
“Shall I compare thee to a…..” Imre Loefler sent us his comparison of the “big five” general medical journals with the big five game animals of Africa. Then he compared them
with ships. Read “The Big Five”. Read “Five Ships” . Clearly, the possibilities of this are endless, and we thought that more people might like to join in the game…Remember the
field from which you choose your five examples is wide open:composers, political regimes, trees, psychiatric states, intestinal parasites, cartoon characters, odours…. For the record, the five general medical journals are: Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine.
Rationalizing the Cannabis Debate:
Rational debate has
often been obstructed because the media present a forced choice between two sets of views. One of these constructed views is that
cannabis is harmless when used recreationally, is therapeutically useful, and hence should be legalised. The other is that recreational use
is harmful to health and that cannabis should continue to be prohibited for recreational or therapeutic purposes.4
This oversimplification of the cannabis debate has prevented a more considered examination of eight conceptually separate issues (box).
We believe that a competent consideration of these issues would contribute to a more informed debate about the appropriate public
policies that could be adopted towards cannabis use for recreational or therapeutic purposes.
How to read a paper by Trisha Greenhalgh et al (from the eBMJ): Getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about); Assessing the methodological quality of published papers; Statistics for the non-statistician; “Significant” relations and their pitfalls; Papers that report drug trials; Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests; Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses); Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses); Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research).
Play “5’s” (from the eBMJ):
“Shall I compare thee to a…..” Imre Loefler sent us his comparison of the “big five” general medical journals with the big five game animals of Africa. Then he compared them
with ships. Read “The Big Five”. Read “Five Ships” . Clearly, the possibilities of this are endless, and we thought that more people might like to join in the game…Remember the
field from which you choose your five examples is wide open:composers, political regimes, trees, psychiatric states, intestinal parasites, cartoon characters, odours…. For the record, the five general medical journals are: Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine.
Rationalizing the Cannabis Debate:
Rational debate has
often been obstructed because the media present a forced choice between two sets of views. One of these constructed views is that
cannabis is harmless when used recreationally, is therapeutically useful, and hence should be legalised. The other is that recreational use
is harmful to health and that cannabis should continue to be prohibited for recreational or therapeutic purposes.4
This oversimplification of the cannabis debate has prevented a more considered examination of eight conceptually separate issues (box).
We believe that a competent consideration of these issues would contribute to a more informed debate about the appropriate public
policies that could be adopted towards cannabis use for recreational or therapeutic purposes.
The Long Now Foundation: Update “The prototype of the clock began working on Dec 31,1999, just in time to display the transition to the new year. At midnight, the date indicator changed from 01999 to 02000. The chime struck twice, to ring in the second millennium.”
The Long Now Foundation: Update “The prototype of the clock began working on Dec 31,1999, just in time to display the transition to the new year. At midnight, the date indicator changed from 01999 to 02000. The chime struck twice, to ring in the second millennium.”
The Farsight Institute | Welcome page
“Welcome to the home of Scientific Remote Viewing”
Urban Legends Reference Pages of the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society
EVMT Project Home Page
In 1912, Wilfrid M. Voynich (a book collector) bought a medieval manuscript (235 pages) written in an unknown script and what appears to be an
unknown language or a cipher from the Jesuit College at the Villa Mondragone, Frascati, in Italy (near Rome). Apparently, Voynich wanted to
have the mysterious manuscript deciphered and provided photographic copies to a number of experts. However, despite the efforts of many well
known cryptologists and scholars, the book remains unread. There are some claims of decipherment, but to date, none of these can be
substantiated with a complete translation.
Lobster: Journal of parapolitics, intelligence and State Research “…Stalker, Lockerbie, Northern Ireland and Colin Wallace, British trade unions, Shooting the Pope, espionage,
disinformation, Right-wing Terrorists, anti-Labour forgeries, the fifth Man, KAL 007, the Fiji coup, MI5’s
plots to smear British politicians, “Wilson, MI5 and the Rise of Thatcher”, Counter-insurgency, Watergate,
Falklands conspiracy theories, JFK, DEA, Oliver North, SAS, Combat 18, MI5, CIA, DoD, conspiracies, British
nuke deployments, “Cyberspace, Secrecy and Spooks”, British Fascism, the Communist threat’, US Army
Intelligence LSD testing, and much more…”
TASTE – The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendent Experiences “An “online journal devoted to transcendent
experiences that scientists have reported”.
It lets scientists express these experiences in a
safe space, collects and shares them to debunk
the idea stereotype that ‘real’ scientists’ don’t
have ‘spiritual’ or ‘mystical experiences’’. Taste
campaigns against the image of science that
pervades public perception.”
The Farsight Institute | Welcome page
“Welcome to the home of Scientific Remote Viewing”
Urban Legends Reference Pages of the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society
EVMT Project Home Page
In 1912, Wilfrid M. Voynich (a book collector) bought a medieval manuscript (235 pages) written in an unknown script and what appears to be an
unknown language or a cipher from the Jesuit College at the Villa Mondragone, Frascati, in Italy (near Rome). Apparently, Voynich wanted to
have the mysterious manuscript deciphered and provided photographic copies to a number of experts. However, despite the efforts of many well
known cryptologists and scholars, the book remains unread. There are some claims of decipherment, but to date, none of these can be
substantiated with a complete translation.
Lobster: Journal of parapolitics, intelligence and State Research “…Stalker, Lockerbie, Northern Ireland and Colin Wallace, British trade unions, Shooting the Pope, espionage,
disinformation, Right-wing Terrorists, anti-Labour forgeries, the fifth Man, KAL 007, the Fiji coup, MI5’s
plots to smear British politicians, “Wilson, MI5 and the Rise of Thatcher”, Counter-insurgency, Watergate,
Falklands conspiracy theories, JFK, DEA, Oliver North, SAS, Combat 18, MI5, CIA, DoD, conspiracies, British
nuke deployments, “Cyberspace, Secrecy and Spooks”, British Fascism, the Communist threat’, US Army
Intelligence LSD testing, and much more…”
TASTE – The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendent Experiences “An “online journal devoted to transcendent
experiences that scientists have reported”.
It lets scientists express these experiences in a
safe space, collects and shares them to debunk
the idea stereotype that ‘real’ scientists’ don’t
have ‘spiritual’ or ‘mystical experiences’’. Taste
campaigns against the image of science that
pervades public perception.”
Millennial Madness:
Blame it on Dennis the Short:
“Millennial madness is too widespread to halt and an obvious indication of the greater dumbing-down of our society.”
Millennial Madness:
Blame it on Dennis the Short:
“Millennial madness is too widespread to halt and an obvious indication of the greater dumbing-down of our society.”
3 networks to form news cooperative to further homogenize your news consumption. The excluded network cries in its beer about not being invited rather than celebrating diversity…
An Alternative History of the 20th Century, from The Nation magazine.
Forgotten Treasures: A Symposium from the LA Times
“With the turn of the millennial odometer now hard upon us, we asked a number of writers to share with us their neglected classics of the century, books they love but which, for one reason or another, have yet to find the readers they so richly deserve.”
Sony’s PSI Lab – FT115
Patrick Huyghe investigates the truth behind the closure of Sony’s seven-year paranormal research effort.
3 networks to form news cooperative to further homogenize your news consumption. The excluded network cries in its beer about not being invited rather than celebrating diversity…
An Alternative History of the 20th Century, from The Nation magazine.
Forgotten Treasures: A Symposium from the LA Times
“With the turn of the millennial odometer now hard upon us, we asked a number of writers to share with us their neglected classics of the century, books they love but which, for one reason or another, have yet to find the readers they so richly deserve.”
Sony’s PSI Lab – FT115
Patrick Huyghe investigates the truth behind the closure of Sony’s seven-year paranormal research effort.
Apocalypse Pretty Soon: “…a coast-to-coast guide to our favorite millenial and utopian players…” (from author Alex Heard)
Apocalypse Pretty Soon: “…a coast-to-coast guide to our favorite millenial and utopian players…” (from author Alex Heard)
“Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals
during coitus and female sexual arousal” from the electronic edition of the British Medical Journal — Schultz et al. 319 (7225): 1596
“Magnetic resonance imaging of male and female genitals
during coitus and female sexual arousal” from the electronic edition of the British Medical Journal — Schultz et al. 319 (7225): 1596
Telephone Exchange Names
“To help foster the use of exchange names, send this list everywhere.”
Telephone Exchange Names
“To help foster the use of exchange names, send this list everywhere.”
Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang
‘If you’ve ever read a hardboiled detective story, you may have come across a sentence like, “I jammed the roscoe in his button and said, ‘Close your yap, bo, or I squirt metal.'” Something like this isn’t too hard to decipher. But what if you encounter, “The flim-flammer jumped in the flivver and faded.”?’
Twists, Slugs and Roscoes: A Glossary of Hardboiled Slang
‘If you’ve ever read a hardboiled detective story, you may have come across a sentence like, “I jammed the roscoe in his button and said, ‘Close your yap, bo, or I squirt metal.'” Something like this isn’t too hard to decipher. But what if you encounter, “The flim-flammer jumped in the flivver and faded.”?’
FEED: Wiring Baby’s Brain, by Erik Davis “Faced with new findings in neurobiology, not to mention signal saturation in the 3-to-the-grave market, mediatech producers are paying close attention to the cognitive demands of babies and toddlers.”
My Favorite Martians: a UFO Epistemology, by Erik Davis
“In the end, most UFO theories can be seen as different modes of structuring the information that crusts around the slippery edges of a massive enigma.”
DAILY BLEED: Calendar of Eclectic events, Public Secrets:
“A wake-up call better than boiled coffee! A calendar of events your
mom & pop forgot to tell you about…”
Mind Waves: An Interview with Francisco Varela by Erik Davis
FEED: Wiring Baby’s Brain, by Erik Davis “Faced with new findings in neurobiology, not to mention signal saturation in the 3-to-the-grave market, mediatech producers are paying close attention to the cognitive demands of babies and toddlers.”
My Favorite Martians: a UFO Epistemology, by Erik Davis
“In the end, most UFO theories can be seen as different modes of structuring the information that crusts around the slippery edges of a massive enigma.”
DAILY BLEED: Calendar of Eclectic events, Public Secrets:
“A wake-up call better than boiled coffee! A calendar of events your
mom & pop forgot to tell you about…”
