a building in Shanghai falls flatThe building was under construction, and was therefore unoccupied (except for the one worker that was killed, but I suppose workers don't count as occupants. somehow.), and the whole thing fell over. Not collapsed, fell. The pictures are amazing, but I really wish I could show this to some building construction ( Read more... )

"my firm belief in the deceitful nature of the government was well-balanced by the equally firm belief that the government was, by and large, a surprisingly large collection of idiots and incompetents with not a lick of sense"

I came across this blog post and I'm what other folks might think of it. I actually don't imagine that too many people I know are going to be willing to read the whole thing (it's expansive...), but he is asking some very interesting questions, and I think, developing some fascinating answers. He envisions a community living-working space built ( Read more... )

a real-life showdown of Ninjas vs. PiratesObviously, the Ninjas have the technological edge here, but unless these are hyper specialized water-ninjas, they are going to be in the Pirate's natural environment. Also, there are way more Pirates than there are Ninjas, and unless the Ninjas are prepared to stage an assault on the Pirate base, the ( Read more... )

Just talking about my cat ( Read more... )

the increased desire for commercial goods is directly related to the mind-numbingness of one's daily life. If one is living a James Bond-esque lifestyle, filled with skin of the teeth escapes, one does not find much desire to purchase the Lost season 4 box set, for example. OTOH, if one is fulfilling the role of another cog in the machine of life ( Read more... )

Detroit says "Suck It!"

big three poster

I just came across this quote from Al Gore, in Newsweek, when asked about Clean Coal: "It's beginning to resemble something that the auto companies did for years. Every few years they would show the cars of the future that run on hydrogen or whatever. [They say] they're going to be magical and pollution-free and they put them in the showroom-but ( Read more... )

I'm not normally a big fan of knitting craft projects, but this is one even I can dig:
A pattern you can't refuse...

A group of students at Princeton University is seeking to elminate the right of freshmen to walk on campus sidealks. Prime quote from the article: " They are very excited that California's Proposition 8 has set a clear precedent for a majority to eliminate a minority group's civil rights, and they see it as a perfect opportunity to utilize this ( Read more... )