Monday, February 26, 2007
Estrella Viaje!
LOL. I love how they have Scotty speak Spanish with a Scottish accent.
Labels: humor, Star Trek, youtube
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/26/2007 01:46:00 PM 
5 MB hard disk
In September 1956 IBM launched the 305 RAMAC, the first computer with a hard disk drive (HDD).
The HDD weighed over a ton and stored 5MB of data.
(via Peter Foss)
Labels: computers
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/26/2007 01:26:00 PM
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Stop Sylvia Browne
Stop Sylvia Browne
Sylvia Browne is a "psychic" fraud who preys on vulnerable people. Not only has she avoided James Randi's million dollar challenge, despite previously agreeing to it, but she told Shawn Hornbeck's parents he was dead.
I hope she is put out of business eventually, but I do not place too much hope in that outcome, seeing as how discredited frauds like Peter Popoff are still fleecing the credulous.
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Sylvia Browne is a "psychic" fraud who preys on vulnerable people. Not only has she avoided James Randi's million dollar challenge, despite previously agreeing to it, but she told Shawn Hornbeck's parents he was dead.
I hope she is put out of business eventually, but I do not place too much hope in that outcome, seeing as how discredited frauds like Peter Popoff are still fleecing the credulous.
Labels: frauds
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/11/2007 02:03:00 PM
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Rick Moran writes what I have been thinking
Rick Moran of Rightwing Nuthouse wrote:
My thoughts exactly. On her blog, Lindsay Beyerstein, who is more reasonable than her friend Amanda Marcotte, nevertheless attempted to defend Amanda Marcotte's histrionics concerning New Orleans by suggesting Amanda was in the thick of things, helping the refugees.
However, Austin, where Amanda Marcotte resided at the time, is over 500 miles distant from New Orleans. Consequently, I have some trouble accepting the image of Amanda Marcotte as Texas' own Florence Nightingale. (If, by contrast, Amanda had lived in Houston, I might harbor less incredulity.)
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This brings up a point that has puzzled me since the entire imbroglio
began; how can you “smear” someone with their own words?
My thoughts exactly. On her blog, Lindsay Beyerstein, who is more reasonable than her friend Amanda Marcotte, nevertheless attempted to defend Amanda Marcotte's histrionics concerning New Orleans by suggesting Amanda was in the thick of things, helping the refugees.
However, Austin, where Amanda Marcotte resided at the time, is over 500 miles distant from New Orleans. Consequently, I have some trouble accepting the image of Amanda Marcotte as Texas' own Florence Nightingale. (If, by contrast, Amanda had lived in Houston, I might harbor less incredulity.)
Labels: Amanda Marcotte
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/10/2007 11:58:00 PM
Plato's Gorgias, part 1
In Gorgias, Plato argues (via Socrates) that it is better to suffer than to inflict suffering on another. I agree with his thesis, although I have not always acted in accordance with that high ideal.
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Labels: philosophy, Plato
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/10/2007 11:39:00 PM
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Gödel's Ontological Proof of God
I admire Kurt Gödel's Ontological Proof of God. (Just as I admire Gödel himself.) Dr. Christopher Small has a good discussion of Gödel's proof here.
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Labels: God, mathematics
# posted by O'Brien @ 2/06/2007 08:59:00 PM
Turtle update
I figured my turtle was hibernating since I had not seen her moving about for some time, so I finally decided to check on her today and she was exactly where I thought she would be (i.e., under the desk) doing exactly what I thought (i.e., sleeping).
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# posted by O'Brien @ 2/06/2007 06:11:00 PM
