How Politics Really Works in America

From Jonathan Schwarz, in Tom Tomorrow's blog:

I believe human civilization will likely—despite current appearances—manage to mitigate global warming and survive. I have about ten reasons for this. One of them is that this is one of the few political issues in which the Sane Billionaires are on the progressive side.

Almost all political conflict, especially in the US, boils down to a fight between the Sane Billionaires and the Insane Billionaires. It generally follows this template:

INSANE BILLIONAIRES: Let’s kill everyone and take their money!

SANE BILLIONAIRES: I like the way you think. I really do. But if we keep everyone alive, and working for us, we’ll make even more money, in the long term.

INSANE BILLIONAIRES: You communist!!!

You Go, Nicole!

Sydney Morning Herald: A 23-year-old PhD student develops tech for baking cheap solar cells in pizza ovens. Yeah!

"Spore" prototypes

Some of Maxis's proof-of-concept prototypes for Spore; these are playable little mini-games.

Conan O'Brien on McCain's VP choices

Casting choices for a movie about the process.

I Have Neither Heart Nor Head

Moved to Thoughts Aloft.

Here Come the Digital People

I knew what this was going in, and still went "WOW!"

Paris Hilton...I Can't Say It...Paris Hilton Does Something Brilliant!

You must watch this video. Honest. The woman has paid America back for all the attention and bucks we've pumped her way, in one minute and fifty-one seconds. She's "totally ready to lead".

That's It. America's Technology Industry Has Officially Jumped The Shark.

Cue India and China.

On the same day on which Lawrence Lessig reminds us that (a) the DoJ had the Patriot Act waiting in a drawer for the pretext of 9/11, and (b) there's probably a cyber equivalent in the same drawer, IBM has been granted a U.S. patent for...prepare your mind to be blown by the sheer brilliance...remembering whether a grocery store customer prefers paper or plastic.

Shakespeare was right.

Scoutin' Rock Island

Went to Rock Island State Park this weekend with the Boy Scouts. Love that place.

This Could Be Huge: New Chemical Process Electrolyzes Water to Hydrogen With Much Less Electricity

These links may or may not work if you're outside academia (thanks Phil!):

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/1162018v1.pdf for online article
and
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/321/5889/620.pdf for 1-pg discn in print version


http://www.physorg.com/news136738014.html

Now If I Can Only Remember Where I Put the Pensieve...

From Computerworld:

IBM software acts as human memory backup
Application collects and organizes images, sounds and text from everyday life for later use

July 31, 2008 (Computerworld) Ever try to remember who you bumped into at the store a few days back? Or exactly what the company president said at the morning meeting?

Well, you're not alone. And IBM researchers are working on software that just may help you better recollect all the forgotten pieces of your life.

This week, the company unveiled software that uses images, sounds and text recorded on everyday mobile devices to help people recall names, faces, conversations and events. Dubbed Pensieve, the software organizes bits of collected information, stores them and then helps the user extract them later on.