mindcandy :: July 2006 Archives

July 29, 2006

» links for 2006-07-29

Dark skin 'does not block cancer'

This is the first year I've let myself get a tan - the windburn from skiing didn't help - and now they tell me this. Bollocks

(tags: health cancer skincare oops)

July 28, 2006

» links for 2006-07-28

Huge open pit mine near Mirny, Russia, East Siberia

Crikey

(tags: geography engineering mining bloodybighole echo)

Flying reptile mystery 'solved'

Pterosaurs grew their crests during puberty

(tags: science nature biology palaeontology prehistory pterosaurs mating)

July 27, 2006

» links for 2006-07-27

londonstreetfashion

Like the title says, don't know how often it updates though

(tags: fashion clothing london photography urban)

July 26, 2006

» links for 2006-07-26

The first men on Moon used a pen to fix the lander

Yikes

(tags: space astronautics moonlanding apollo repair derring-do)

China appears to have built a very large model village

"The rectangular simulation bears an uncanny resemblance to 450 kilometres of territory occupied by China, but claimed by India, in the Karakoram mountain range."

(tags: geography googleearth mysterious model)

Deja vu 'recreated in laboratory'

Haven't I seen this story before (a ha ha ha I am so funny)

(tags: science biology neurology)

July 23, 2006

» links for 2006-07-23

The Rise and Fall of the Hit

Nothing new here, but a good overview

(tags: media entertainment music marketing editing gatekeeping longtail niche)

July 22, 2006

» links for 2006-07-22

What's going on in Lebanon

A collection of graphic pictures, mostly from the news agencies, of conditions in the Lebanese conflict zone.

(tags: photography journalism truth war conflict casulties payattention)

Sleeping with women makes men more stupid and stressed

I knew being alone had to have some upside. Though it's hardly borne out in my case Oh, and a sample size of eight? I smell bullshit

(tags: biology sleep genderrelations)

July 21, 2006

» links for 2006-07-21

What Do Rabbits See?

Blurry near-monochrome widescreen. As an aside: isn't it ironic that a page about vision has such an eye-watering background image?

(tags: science nature biology rabbit sense vision)

Dr. Vulture's Laboratory of Evil Science

A comprehensive guide to Evil Science. The Manuals are particularly useful

(tags: science baddies funny)

July 20, 2006

» links for 2006-07-20

Transcript: Bush and Blair's unguarded chat

And these are our leaders.

(tags: politics president primeminister gaffe caughtontape oops)

Animal-Controlled Computer Games: Playing Pac-Man against Real Crickets

A research grant well spent.

(tags: science nature entomology entertainment videogames animalbehaviour)

July 19, 2006

» links for 2006-07-19

Superman as Christ-Figure: The American Pop Culture Movie Messiah

There's been a lot of fuss about the pseudo-Christian imagery in the new film, but the parallels have been there since the very first film

(tags: religion fantasy superheroes messiah superman jesus)

First direct observations of spinons and holons

Separating out the spin and charge of electrons

(tags: science physics subatomic particlephysics)

Wordpress LiveJournal Crossposter

(tags: howto web authoring publishing)

July 18, 2006

» links for 2006-07-18

The hunt for the killer hairballs

London's sewers, and the men who clean them. Do not read while eating

(tags: london city urban sewage underground infiltration subterranean yuk)

Where have all the planets gone?

Tussauds replaces the London Planetarium with what sounds like the most asinine attraction ever built

(tags: science society tourism celebrity disgrace)

Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness

The "positive psychology" boom; and why New York is a lousy place to find happiness

(tags: society psychology happiness emotion mood consumerism)

July 16, 2006

» links for 2006-07-16

FM transmitters for iPods likely to be legal from 2007

Aw, but it was _fun_ being a pirate

(tags: entertainment music ipod radio transmitter ofcom pirateradio)

July 14, 2006

» links for 2006-07-14

Today, the sun will set at the end of every Manhattan cross street

I remember being blown away by this during a cab ride down the island a few years ago

(tags: architecture astronomy sun solar alignment)

HOWTO: get songs off your iPod with iTunes

How to back up (cough) your iPod without using third-party software

(tags: howto music mp3 backup itunes ipod)

July 13, 2006

» links for 2006-07-13

Hyde Pod Corner

My friend Mat is doing a podcast. It's good. Go listen

(tags: media podcast friends mathyde)

Palaeontologists find evidence for "killer kangaroos"

And the "demon duck of doom". I don't think they're taking this seriously

(tags: nature biology palaeontology marsupial extinct)

Happiness doesn't cost the Earth

according to a new and possibly bollocks index that finds little correlation between consumption and happiness. The UK comes in at 108th

(tags: society economics consumerism wellbeing happiness)

July 12, 2006

» links for 2006-07-12

Doubt cast over ID cards' future

Systems won't be ready for 2008, civil servants prepared for them to be scrapped. Quelle surprise

(tags: society privacy civilliberties idcards bigbrother)

Superman Returns is doing badly at the US box-office

I don't know why I care, but I do. The world needs Superman

(tags: art cinema film movies boxoffice comicbooks superman)

The hidden cost of wind turbines

Peat bogs, birds and wind turbines: unhappy combinations (subscription required)

(tags: energy nature ecology environment windfarm windmills)

Tendulkar fails to stop Pakistan

I went to this. It rocked, even if it was cut short

(tags: sport cricket blog)

July 10, 2006

» links for 2006-07-10

Mice feel each others' pain

Empathy might be common to all mammals

(tags: science nature pain feelings emotion empathy)

July 09, 2006

» links for 2006-07-09

Jim Davidson declared bankrupt

Unfortunately, this is probably just tax avoidance. I wish it meant they'd throw him in debtors' prison

(tags: schadenfreude)

July 08, 2006

» links for 2006-07-08

The Straight Dope: Is chocolate toxic to dogs?

Yes. And so is ibuprofen

(tags: nature toxicology animals pets poisoning)

1,000 skeletons found in Rome's catacombs

Finely dressed bodies in mass burial

(tags: archaeology romans burial)

South African fruit picker takes on Tesco

Bought a single share to protest about workers' conditions at the AGM

(tags: society business supermarkets tesco exploitation)

Temporary Autonomous Zones and Pirate Utopias

Hakim Bey expounds

(tags: society pirates liberty anarchy libertarianism hakimbey)

Under the Banner of King Death

The surprisingly progressive world of piracy

(tags: society pirates)

Imperfect Sound Forever

I can't decide if this is the usual audiophile-vs-convenience argument, or something more

(tags: music recording compression attentionspan)

Imperfect Sound Forever Revisited

More from the frontlines of the loudness wars

(tags: music recording attentionspan)

July 07, 2006

» links for 2006-07-07

Circumhorizon arcs

Also known as "fire rainbows". Make sure to check out the additional images

(tags: science nature rainbows sky halo atmosphere)

July 06, 2006

» links for 2006-07-06

Gliffy

Visio as a webapp, basically.

(tags: howto software applications useful)

Transformers teaser trailer is up

A Michael Bay movie. So that'll involve big things blowing up, then

(tags: movies entertainment robotsindisguise)

Wikipedia's entry for Transformers: Super-God Masterforce

Possibly the best title for a cartoon EVAH. Pity it looks a bit rubbish

(tags: entertainment anime cartoon robotsindisguise)

Climate changes worries boost geoengineering

Scientists ask for big money to research big fixes for big problems

(tags: science ecology environment geoengineering)

July 05, 2006

» links for 2006-07-05

Justo's DIY cathedral

A bit like the Watts Towers, only given over to religion

(tags: architecture building ecclesiastical outsiderart)

Bert Christensen's Weird & Different Recipes

For those who think the Fat Duck is too unadventurous

(tags: food gastronomy eating)

Art Inspired by Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum

One man's graphical tribute to Eco's Templar-fest.

(tags: art literature homage remix)

The Art of Science

Princeton-organized competition, with online galleries

(tags: art science nature twocultures)

July 02, 2006

» links for 2006-07-02

How stinks and bangs have been outlawed

No fun for young boffins

(tags: science chemistry risk amateur killjoys)

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

Makes for a pretty damning indictiment of the US electoral system, even if there actually was no conspiracy to rig votes

(tags: politics corruption voterigging elections)

Sealand on Fire

I went out on the river with these guys today, but not to see this. Is this the end for the Princiality of Sealand?

(tags: geography offshore island autonomy kingdom micronation)

Overcompensating: The Unbearable Lightness of Being The Poopmonster

Oh my god, I AM the Poopmonster

(tags: cartoon comic funny eerie)

Building the Village

Portmeirion in Lego. Genius

(tags: architecture toys lego model stunts)

Amberjac Projects: Plug-in Hybrid Systems

UK installer of Prius modkit. But it costs more than my car did to begin with. Think I'll wait til it comes as standard with the nextgen Prius

(tags: energy pollution automobile car alternativefuels)

Ants count their steps to see how far they've gone

This involved putting ants on stilts ...

(tags: science nature entomology ants measurement)

A top-down approach to cosmology

Hawking & Hertog propose a sum-over-paths approach to the universe's development

(tags: science cosmology multiverse superposition hawking)