Sacred BBQ

Cooking up those juicy sacred cows with a side dish of whatever I feel like served cold.

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Evolution's Double-Edged Sword

This is a specific case that illustrates a problem I've long had with the theory of evolution. Assuming there ever was such a thing as a positive mutation (even assuming this was the result of the introduction of new information in the genetic code--which I think unlikely) natural selection would tilt toward the species who specialize and kill of their more generalized competition. But then, at the same time, this would make them less adaptable to changes in their environment--ultimately killing off the specialists after the generalist species were gone.

In other words it's an entirely reductionistic theory that cannot account for the increase of anything except entropy.Discovery Channel :: News :: Study: Big Predators Don't Last Long

Ooops I'm An Addict

I've never drunk alcohol and I've never smoked or done drugs, but I guess I'm not as clean and sober as I thought I was. Still, why are they calling this a mental disorder when it seems to be a chemical addiction? Is Caffeine Withdrawal a Mental Disorder?

Monday, September 27, 2004

And you wonder why I still record junk on VHS?

This could kill the blank media market. New Technology Could Yield Terabyte Optical Disks I mean one disk and you don't have to buy anymore until the next hardware upgrade to the next new standard format. Unless--of course--you want to record every single episode of Dr. Who ever produced. Then you might want a second disk or something.

Who Didn't See This One Coming?

Taleban Leader Killed in Afghanistan was in Guantanamo Bay Prison Awww, you mean he wasn't just a poor innocent opium farmer like all those human rights groups said he was???

I, personally, think they should release them all--but only after putting RFID tags in them. Then set the cruise missiles to home in on the signals. It would help us find the hidden terrorist enclaves and be entertaining at the same time!

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Finally! A use for spinach!

Spinach could power better solar cells If you don't want to eat it, tell your mom it can be put to better use!

Friday, September 17, 2004

Humans Are Pre-Wired For Langugage

This is truly amazing: Deaf Kids in Nicaragua Give Birth to New Language. It is looking more and more like humans are pre-wired for language. It would seem that all children are some form of "madlib" just waiting (or not) for someone to fill in the linguistic blanks, but with all the rules of how to use them already in place.

One-upping the Hummer

Look. I'm not necessarily against conspicuous consumption. I feel everyone, even rich people, have the right to make a fool of themselves. But come on! Isn't this getting a little too carried away? Truck maker unveils a monster pickup

Thursday, September 16, 2004

CBS News, Faked Memos, and the Nixon Kennedy Debates...

The fallout from this faked story is quite interesting. With repeated revelations of false and plagiarized news stories in the print media, admissions of censorship by CNN and ongoing stories like this--CBS News | GOP Slams CBS On Bush Memos I'm constantly amazed that liberals still have the balls to stand up and say "what liberal media bias?" Even funnier is CBS near-admission that the memos were fake but the story is still true. And if you buy that you really are too stupid to vote.

With polls showing journalists vote Democratic in rates of 4:1 (in "fly over" country) to 12:1 (in NY, DC and the coast--of course they didn't say how many of those "1" votes went to Green, Socialist, Communist etc. parties) I say it goes beyond mere bias to election fraud and an outright attempt to manipulate the American public.

However the truly interesting thing in this situation, as always, are the unintended consequences. Setting aside discussions of type fonts and proportional spacing (to say nothing of anachronisticc memo formatting and inappropriate acronyms and terminology) the net result of all this is that the TV is showing a lot of pictures of dashing young fighter pilot George Bush to a lot of women. Don't underestimate the impact of that.

In a famous debate between Kennedy and Nixon, it was reported that those who listened to the radio felt that Nixon had won the debate. But those who watched it on TV felt Kennedy had won. Why? Largely it was the women--who felt that Kennedy was better looking.

Fast forward to '04 where image is even more important and substance is unknown. The impact could be even greater.

I have noticed more pictures of Kerry in dress uniform (I'm not talking about the swift boat veterans version) being paraded around a bit in the media of late, but it's just not the same. Kerry never looked good and always looked stiff in uniform while the young George W looks relaxed, confident and manly.

Kerry and the media, not George Bush, would be advised to drop the subject of past military server and find another subject, fast.

Monday, September 13, 2004

Press CTRL+ALT+Del to start WWIII

OSS torpedoed: Royal Navy will run on Windows for Warships Kinda gives new meaning to the blue screen of death, doesn't it? Think Linux will sign up with the Air Force to keep Microsoft from achieving tactical superiority?

Watch Out Below!


Yes that's a buzzard. You can't see the score or more circling around overhead.


The wild kingdom comes to the big city. It was only an average sized opossum in the road, but it still attracted scores of vultures. (Notice the pair lurking on the roof? There were a lot more just waiting for us to drive away.)

Friday, September 03, 2004

Stem Cell Research & Hidden Agendas

Bold New World for Bald Mice is an interesting article, not so much for what it says, but that it reluctantly reports on an aspect of the stem cell research debate that the media-liberal complex and many scientists seem to be trying to censor. The actual subject, using stem cells to grow hair and skin is perhaps not so earth shattering as it might once have been. But the interesting thing is how the writer almost apologizes for the fact that the experiment used, and I quote, "so-called adult stem cells". This only after a liberal apologia sneering at "religious groups and anti-abortion activists". Ok, so this is Wired magazine.

The ignored truth is that most all of the research that is actually producing promising results is being conducted with "so-called adult stem cells" while the always lauded fetal stem cells tend to produce a frightening level of cancers. A fact that many stem-cell proponents are unaware of and the rest couldn't care less about.

So why are two professions who are, supposedly, engaged in the search for truth and informing the rest of us morons--why are they deliberately withholding this information? Why do they angrily promote fetal cell research when more promising and less controversial avenues are open to them? The answer has to be that there is an agenda at work here separate from science or health.

What is that agenda? We can't really know until they decide to be honest with us. But they've already shown that they're willing to sacrifice honesty to pursue their agenda.

The most obvious guess is that someone is trying to create a market for human flesh. I can't imagine why unless you had a surplus supply that was easily accessible. Granted abortion is big business, but I don't think this would be a successful way to diversify the industry.

I suspect that it is entirely a subconscious reaction. A desire to promote abortion at even extreme costs. More than that, I think it is an attack on anyone who would promote any form of traditional morality--even the inherent worth of human life. I take it back. It's not a subconscious reaction; it's a spiritual reaction.

I realize it's politically incorrect to believe in Satan. Even many people who claim to believe in the bible or God reject the idea. But when you're working out the moral equations of the situation, its probably the best solution to a lot of these questions.

Now where is that razor that Occam left lying around here...?

Thursday, September 02, 2004

A Return Call From ET?

Mysterious signals from the depths of space. Sounds like the beginning to a good SF plot.