Hooked
You know you’re hooked on Wikipedia when you notice errors on some other web page and start looking for the “edit this page” tab, only to be shocked to learn you don’t have permission to edit this page. I’m not linking to my contributions, since there’s nothing really to be proud of, just saying it’s a blast, at times.
Sometimes the Headline Says It All
Possible Nazi Theme of Grand Prix Boss’s Orgy Draws Calls to Quit
I can’t figure out how to tie this into my blog; I just liked the headline, seeing how it sums up the whole article so well. I can assure you my orgies are 100% nazi free!
But there is a tie in to sexual liberty that is not really explored in the article, which characterizes one side alleging and the other denying there was a nazi theme to the, er, activities. Supposing there was a nazi theme, but there is no evidence the man in question, Mr. Mosley, is actually a nazi or otherwise a racist outside the bedroom, does that make him wrong or unethical? Are we to assume what someone likes in the bedroom is a reflection of his or her overall character? I think that’s going a bit far. Suffice to say bedroom nazi reenactments are not my cup of tea, though if it’s done with a healthy sense of irony and amusement, I’m not sure how different it is from Springtime for Hitler. Can anyone really say, ““She needs more of ze punishment!” with a straight face?
Jogging High
Loved this article I read in the NY Times:
Researchers in Germany, using advances in neuroscience, report in the current issue of the journal Cerebral Cortex that the folk belief is true: Running does elicit a flood of endorphins in the brain. The endorphins are associated with mood changes, and the more endorphins a runner’s body pumps out, the greater the effect.
Of course I, like many others, have always known this is true. It’s an interesting, informative, somewhat pleasing article — so why did I say I love the article? Because I just got home from running! Yay for happy coincidences.
But if running gets you high perhaps we need to ban it. How can we allow Big Sneaker to peddle their Nikes and Reeboks to our children?
Hillary 4 Evah!
Haven’t updated this in a while, but a liberal friend wanted to see my blog. Let’s hope she stops reading after the first post.
I just want to say Hillary Clinton is great and deserves to win the presidency. She’s smart, tough, and experienced. I so want her to raise my taxes and regulate the hell out of me. Go Hillary!
It Bleeds, But Doesn’t Always Lead
I don’t normally watch the local news, but had the TV on after a show. Two stories:
1) A massive fire wipes out a city block in a local town, leaving dozens homeless.
2) The star quarterback of the New England Patriots might be slightly injured for the upcoming Super Bowl, seen on camera in a walking cast.
Guess which story leads the news?
Gotta love the media.
Technorati Tags: media
I Heart Economists
Economists Say Movie Violence Might Temper the Real Thing
A paper presented by two researchers over the weekend to the annual meeting of the American Economic Association here challenges the conventional wisdom, concluding that violent films prevent violent crime by attracting would-be assailants and keeping them cloistered in darkened, alcohol-free environs.
“Economics is about choice,” Professor Dahl said. “What would these people have done if they had not chosen to go and see a movie? Whatever they would have done would have had a greater tendency to involve alcohol. If you can incapacitate a large group of potentially violent people, that’s a good thing.”
Professor DellaVigna added, “It’s not as if these people watching violent movies would otherwise be home reading a book.”
Well, in my case….
It’s an interesting argument and a reflection of the fact that sometimes reality can be counter-intuitive.
More Satiating
Apparently the state was holding some sort of election thing yesterday and, in Boston, voter turn-out reached a 20-year low of 13.6%. (I was climbing out of bed when I heard this on the radio, so hopefully didn’t get it wrong). I try to encourage voter apathy: the fewer people vote, the less perception that the winner has any sort of mandate. There is no ballot option for “none of the above,” (much less “no one at all”), so ballot abstinence is the closest you can get to voting for no one.
Technorati Tags: libertarianism
Satiating
Ahhhhhh…. I just finished all seventeen pages of John Siracusa’s review of Leopard, Apple’s new version of the OS X operating system. There is something really satisfying about a Siracusa review, like a having Thanksgiving dinner for the brain. After finishing that I just want unbuckle my belt and watch a football game. I have Leopard pre-ordered from Amazon, but having selected the free shipping option I’m now stuck waiting for a few more days. Sigh.
Technorati Tags: technology
Unintended Realization
Over the weekend I was out in some wooded country, where I’ve noticed there’s been a lot of development and road construction. Later that night, I contemplated the silliness of the government trying to protect the environment by opening an HOV lane — which required cutting down hundreds of trees to widen the road. Subsequently, I woke up, realizing I had dreamed the whole thing about an HOV lane. I guess you know you’re a libertarian when you dream about unintended consequences.
Technorati Tags: libertarianism, economics
My Software Curse
One way I drive myself crazy is that I’ll buy a computer game I’m interested in, only to completely lose interest in it soon thereafter. I can think of a couple of extreme cases where I only played the game once. (One of these days I’ll fire up that copy of Railroad Tycoon on my shelf.) Thank God for demos.
Apparently this extends to other products, since I purchased ecto, a very nice blogging client, and lately I just haven’t had the same interest in blogging. Maybe I can attribute it to summertime, when I had lots of outdoor activities on my mind. Well, now it’s the first day of October, so let’s see if I can do any better in the fall.
Technorati Tags: technology
