23 May 2009

Weekend Update

As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, my preparations for a vegetarian barbecue proceed forthwith. Hopefully, the vegetarian won't crawl out of the marinade this year...

  • An interesting article discloses some practical flaws in long-tail theory. That leaves aside the obvious mathematical flaws in the long-tail theory... such as its disdain for data, its ignorance of field conditions and boundaries, and its neglect of stochastic reality.
  • Star Trek is only five years away (just like when IBM announced it over a half-century ago): activate the universal translator. Of course, "translation" is a lot more than vocabulary and syntax.
  • Suprise! Torture is torture! In the spirit of this entry's title: "Mancow, you ignorant slut!"
  • Homework for writers: What actually happens after a "nuclear event"? It's a lot of talking heads (who actually know what they're talking about) and video presentations... but worth one's time.