News: “Duke University is eliminating 8 a.m. classes and trying to come up with other ways help its sleep-deprived students, who too often are struggling to survive on a mix of caffeine, adrenaline, and ambition.” Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. News you can appreciate, if not actually benefit from.(via Boglo) Some low-impact living initiative fact sheets. Good […]
Patterns of Thought re: Global Dimming
“Goodbye Sunshine” is a Guardian article that keeps turning up in the oddest places. It was picked up by Slashdot sometime close to the original publication. MeFi seems to latch on to it from time to time (I can’t find the other time, but I know it’s there), too. And it’s even found itself a […]
Posted by Ben on April 26, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/patterns-of-thought-re-global-dimming/
All around the world in 360 degrees
Taking a giant leap forward from the quote-unquote ‘traditional’ quicktime virtual-reality offerings—boxes that were like at most two inches wide, these tiny spaces that offered a vague sense of control in that you could pan around 360°—Fullscreen QTVR has some imagery that is quite frankly amazing. Everything from the top of Mt. Everest to the […]
Posted by Ben on April 25, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/all-around-the-world-in-360-degrees/
O heavy lightness!
I’ve always said, “if only I had the complete text of Romeo and Juliet on a bedsheet—or maybe on a shower curtain—I might come to appreciate it more.” Finally.
Posted by Ben on April 24, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/o-heavy-lightness/
Things to Mull
Comics and Politics: The New Yorker has (well, one of its writers has) an interesting and long article about Aaron McGruder, the guy who created Boondocks. It’s a long, long article, but it may be worth reading solely for the part where, as a special guest at the Nation’s (the lefty newsweekly) birthday party, McGruder […]
Posted by Ben on April 19, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/things-to-mull/
I don’t consider myself a salesman, but
…but there are some things too good to pass up. Too good to pass up mentioning, anyway. At Central Alarm Systems, which sells alarms, etc., I stumbled across this bit of keen copywriting: LCD Keypad – Custom English Display Same as above, but this baby reads out in Custom English! What this means is it’s […]
Posted by Ben on April 17, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/i-dont-consider-myself-a-salesman-but/
From the bowels of the internet
“Flibbity Jibbit, a wonderful story about a duck that holds the key to saving the lives of a hungry town!“ In six handy PDF files, for all to enjoy!
Posted by Ben on April 15, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/from-the-bowels-of-the-internet/
Define “Mercenary”
The recent mess with Blackwater has—understandably—riled some tempers, fueled some angry debates, etc., the word “mercenary” often slung about in no uncertain terms. No uncertain terms which have often remained somewhat uncertain on account of no one really bothering to seriously puzzle over what meaning, exactly, mercenary has in the context of the conflict in […]
Posted by Ben on April 7, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/define-mercenary/
Hello, Self? That was a really stupid thing you just did, probably.
http://www.futureme.org/: here’s the story: two fellas started this so that you could write yourself a letter to be delivered at a later date. we’ve all had to do them in high school and college. it’s sorta cool to receive a letter from yourself about where you thought you’d be a year (two years? more?) later. […]
Posted by Ben on April 6, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/hello-self-that-was-a-really-stupid-thing-you-just-did-probably/
Chomsky Blogs
As of some very recent time, Noam Chomsky has a blog. It’s called Turning the Tide. What’s not to like? (via some other blog, possibly diepunyhumans though possibly not; actual laudatory reference will appear here if I can dig it up)
Posted by Ben on April 5, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/chomsky-blogs/