Spoiler alert: TV medical dramas 'rife' with bioethical issues and professional misconduct

http://labspaces.net/102768/Spoiler_alert__TV_medical_dramas__rife__with_bioethical_issues_and_professional_misconduct

"Informed consent was the most frequently observed bioethical issue. Of 49 total incidents, 43 percent involved "exemplary" consent discussions, while the remaining instances were "inadequate." In general, exemplary depictions portrayed "compassionate, knowledgeable physicians participating in a balanced discussion with a patient about possible treatment options." Conversely, inadequate depictions were "marked by hurried and one-sided discussions, refusal by physicians to answer questions" and "even an entire lack of informed consent for risky procedures," the authors state."

nonbeard 2010-03-28 02:19:31

3 Simple Rules That Will Make You a ‘Superstar’ Developer « yield thought

http://coderoom.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/3-simple-rules-that-will-make-you-a-superstar-developer/

1. Write lots of crap. 2. Introduce subtle bugs. 3. Don't document anything. Sad: a) "This is satire" postscript; b) comments indicating why the postscript was necessary.

nonbeard 2010-03-27 10:08:09

The Selfish Gene as Philosophical Essay

http://www.ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/selfishgene.pdf

Daniel Dennett on why "philosophical" isn't a criticism of Dawkin's writing.

nonbeard 2010-03-27 06:24:27

Schneier on Security: Schneier Blogging Template

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/03/schneier_bloggi.html

If there's one thing I like more than recursion, it's... well.

nonbeard 2010-03-27 01:23:00

Study Hacks » Blog Archive » How to Get Into Stanford with B's on Your Transcript: Failed Simulations & the Surprising Psychology of Impressiveness

http://calnewport.com/blog/2010/03/26/how-to-get-into-stanford-with-bs-on-your-transcript-failed-simulations-the-surprising-psychology-of-impressiveness/

Interesting take on the "psychology of impressiveness": the harder it is for people to imagine themselves accomplishing a task, the more impressive that task is (regardless of how much perseverance or talent was actually required) (hackernews)

nonbeard 2010-03-27 01:04:53

What is an HTML 5 WebSocket - KAAZING.ORG - Home - Kaazing Gateway

http://www.kaazing.org/confluence/display/KAAZING/What+is+an+HTML+5+WebSocket

XMLHTTPRequest, you have served me well, but now it's time to learn something new.

nonbeard 2010-03-26 16:53:17

Stewart Brand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Brand

The hippie, writer, and environmentalist who, among many other things, founded the Whole Earth Catalog, started the WELL, and coined the phrase "Information wants to be free", is a strong advocate for nuclear power -- on the basis that it is one of few viable green power technologies.

nonbeard 2010-03-25 09:27:26

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions | Video on TED.com

http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_science_can_show_what_s_right.html

I avoided this for a while because I felt I'd disagree with it. Actually it's very good. Fascinating to see his unpreparedness under questioning afterwards.

nonbeard 2010-03-24 02:09:00

My Lai Massacre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre
nonbeard 2010-03-23 13:07:43

Readability - An Arc90 Lab Experiment

http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/

Bookmarklet that reformats any "article-style" page and removes all the crap. Seems to work! (Edit: works best on things with one big column of text)

nonbeard 2010-03-22 04:33:27

19 equal temperament - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_equal_temperament

Alternate scale consisting of 19 tones rather than the normal 12. I like the music that I've so far heard for this tuning.

nonbeard 2010-03-21 12:53:02

Conjuring Slydini (Part 2) - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/conjuring-slydini-part-2/
2010-03-20 13:05:20

Conjuring Slydini - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/conjuring-slydini/
2010-03-20 13:05:04

Sevish - Golden Hour album at Split Notes Microtonal Netlabel

http://split-notes.com/spnt001.php

Published on the world's first netlabel for freely-available, microtonal songs with recognisable beats! And this kind of niche is why the Internet is so great. Let's hold hands, Internet.

nonbeard 2010-03-20 11:49:56

Conal Elliott » The C language is purely functional

http://conal.net/blog/posts/the-c-language-is-purely-functional/

"“C programmers” really program not in C, but in the purely functional language cpp. As with any purely functional language, cpp consists only of (nestable) expressions, not statements. Now here’s the clever part: when evaluated (not executed), a cpp expression yields a (pure) value of type C, which is an ADT (abstract type) that represents imperative programs." Teehee, language nerds!

nonbeard 2010-03-20 06:20:57

Why Mark Shuttleworth is right - Ubuntu is not a democracy and nor should it be | OMG! Ubuntu!

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/03/why-mark-shuttleworth-is-right-ubuntu.html

Amazing example of the echo-chamber effect of the internet. The root cause of this discussion is that the fucking minimise and close buttons on window borders changed positions. That's. It. Truly stunning. I'm almost impressed.

nonbeard 2010-03-20 01:55:55

Performative contradiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performative_contradiction

Oh ffs..."The statement "Hierarchies do not exist" offers a more subtle example of performative contradiction referring to the very capacity of making a statement, because the statement itself is a hierarchy of semiotic relations of letters (as symbols) formed into words (as signifiers) formed into a sentence (as a statement)."

nonbeard 2010-03-18 17:18:59

Dawkins Review of Intellectual Impostures

http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/dawkins.html

Penises are equivalent to the square root of -1.

nonbeard 2010-03-18 16:44:08

Psychopaths Among Us, by Robert Hercz

http://www.hare.org/links/saturday.html

Fascinating distraction material (hacker news)

nonbeard 2010-03-18 11:21:16

Interview: Encyclopedia Dramatica moderator

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1025127/interview-with-encyclopedia-dramatica-moderator

"Let us talk epistemology for a moment. The minute there is a hidden limit on speech, it is no longer free. Free speech with limits is not free speech under any circumstances. But Matthew 15:11 (what goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean", but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean") certainly applies to some users of ED"

nonbeard 2010-03-18 00:07:05

Cookery Books: Britain's Gift to America - Food - The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/03/cookery-books-britains-gift-to-america/37535/

'Across town, in Bloomsbury, Persephone Books (59 Lamb's Conduit Street, Russell Square tube station) reprints "20th century classics by (mostly) women."' Unusual London cookbook shops

nonbeard 2010-03-16 18:45:39

Aboriginal recognition a farce: Tuckey - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/15/2845854.htm?section=justin

This is from the same people who say the Lord's Prayer before each session of Parliament. Looking forward to hearing about the "tokenism" of that gesture.

nonbeard 2010-03-15 06:00:29

§ 161. Idea worth minus a million

http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/161/

'When telling others about their ideas, every inventor or designer should say honestly: “I have an idea worth minus a million.”' ... however, the concept of Evian-branded ice makes me want to punch kittens.

nonbeard 2010-03-15 03:25:12

Call Me Fishmeal.: TED 2010

http://wilshipley.com/blog/2010/03/ted-2010.html

"I, for instance, don’t like the taste of tripe, but I don’t begrudge those who do. It seems to me that the problem came because the people who didn’t think Sarah was funny either (a) took her seriously, and so thought she was the most idiotic, venal, and horrible woman who ever lived, and/or (b) thought everyone else must be hating this as well, because so clearly WE ARE EATING A STOMACH OH GOD THIS IS DISGUSTING I FEEL LIKE IT IS EATING ME BACK THERE MUST BE SOME KIND OF MISTAKE." Will Shipley's writing is as good as his code.

nonbeard 2010-03-14 07:40:52

"M.I.A.", M.I.A., clap clap blog

http://claps.blogspot.com/2005/03/so-hey.html

Interesting political / musical analysis of this song. I think this sort of writing is hard to do well, but he managed it. :)

nonbeard 2010-03-13 18:04:08

Robot Chicken Unicorn Attack 'Chase Your Dreams' Shirt -- Adult Swim Shop

http://www.adultswimshop.com/cat/Robot-Chicken-Unicorn-Attack-Chase-Your-Dreams-Shirt.html

USA and Canada only. Why must you destroy my dreams, adultswim. :(

nonbeard 2010-03-13 16:32:05

Have tracing JIT compiler's won? | Lambda the Ultimate

http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/3851
2010-03-10 10:38:31

Scott and Scurvy

http://idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm

Fascinating account of the discovery, and subsequent loss, of the cure for scurvy between the 18th and 20th centuries. I can understand how it was lost: fresh lemon juice conveyed a benefit but lime juice stored in a copper vessel did not; fresh seal liver helped but preserved meat didn't. It must have been completely baffling.

nonbeard 2010-03-08 08:39:19

Tony Abbott "Threatened" By Gays on SameSame.com.au

http://www.samesame.com.au/news/local/5160/Tony-Abbott-Threatened-By-Gays.htm

I know a good cure for feeling "threatened" by gays.

nonbeard 2010-03-08 05:37:19

Leviathans may battle in remote depths - latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shark7-2010mar07,0,5015116.story

Bookmarked for title alone

nonbeard 2010-03-07 10:05:27

Face-Off: Final Fantasy XIII | DigitalFoundry

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-final-fantasy-xiii-face-off

The comparison video is *amazingly* well-done. I want to find the person who made this video and shake their hand. And then slap them silly with the other hand.

nonbeard 2010-03-06 02:48:41

Human Nose Shapes

http://www.typesofnoses.com/

typesofnoses.com. Thanks, Internet!

nonbeard 2010-03-03 11:19:58

Mother insult - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_mom

Wikipedia finds a mum joke in Shakespeare. Chiron: "Thou hast undone our mother." Aaron: "Villain, I have done thy mother."

nonbeard 2010-03-01 10:21:02

Robot Unicorn Attack - A Free Online Flash Game From Adult Swim

http://games.adultswim.com/robot-unicorn-attack-twitchy-online-game.html

ALWAYS I WANNA BE WITH YOU (via liedra, second-best Flash game ever)

nonbeard 2010-02-28 11:46:06

Mind Hacks: Subliminal cigarette marketing

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/02/subliminal_cigarette.html

Your subtle ploy to titillate your audience with pornographic imagery of male genitalia disguised as harmless camel heads has not gone undetected.

nonbeard 2010-02-28 01:48:14

The Volidity Report: Profanity Superpower

http://volidity-report.blogspot.com/2009/12/profanity-superpower.html

American swearword dominance (though might be inaccurate---Catie reckons "abgefuckt" is plain German) with Latvian swearword intermezzo.

nonbeard 2010-02-26 07:48:30

Boston Review — Ned Block and Philip Kitcher: Misunderstanding Darwin

http://bostonreview.net/BR35.2/block_kitcher.php

It's sometimes hard to work out whether a particular evolved trait is there for any specific adaptive reason, and, even if it is, it's hard to know what for. Therefore the entire structure of Darwinian evolution is guilty of the intensional fallacy. Says Jerry Fodor. This article is skeptical.

nonbeard 2010-02-23 03:49:34

Climate scientists 'under cyber attack' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/22/2826417.htm?

"Did you want to offer your children to be brutally gang-raped and then horribly tortured before being reminded of their parents' socialist beliefs and actions?" Stay classy, Australia. (Reddit)

nonbeard 2010-02-22 09:57:20

How To Boil Corn On The Cob

http://www.cornonthecobrecipe.com/boiled-corn-on-the-cob/

Another "simple recipe with a lot of photos" dedicated site. Just look at that pat of butter!

nonbeard 2010-02-21 06:21:23

DICE 2010: "Design Outside the Box" Presentation Videos - G4tv.com

http://g4tv.com/videos/44277/DICE-2010-Design-Outside-the-Box-Presentation/
2010-02-20 15:14:03

Introduction to the Diagrams of UML 2.0

http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/umlDiagrams.htm

There are 13!

nonbeard 2010-02-20 14:56:49

How to Make Friends - wikiHow

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Friends

"Make eye contact and smile. If you have an unfriendly countenance, people are less likely to be receptive to your friendship." Fuck off, WikiHow. (via previous link)

nonbeard 2010-02-20 11:48:04

Why Your Friends Have More Friends than you Do

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=6158303

"the mean number of friends of friends is always greater than the mean number of friends of individuals." (reddit once removed, as the reddit linkee is annoying)

nonbeard 2010-02-20 11:45:55

CREATURES FROM PRIMORDIAL SILICON

http://www.cs.nyu.edu/courses/fall08/G22.2965-001/geneticalgex

The hardware evolution article I mentioned before. "Although the configuration program specified tasks for all 100 [FPGA] cells, it transpired that only 32 were essential to the circuit's operation. Thompson could bypass the other cells without affecting it. A further five cells appeared to serve no logical purpose at all--there was no route of connections by which they could influence the output. And yet if he disconnected them, the circuit stopped working." Amazing.

nonbeard 2010-02-19 04:37:29

Researchers accidentally create strain-specific antibiotic

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/02/researchers-accidentally-create-strain-specific-antibiotic.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Ending up with unexpected specialisation via evolution. Reminds me of a similar experiment with evolution of a circuit on an FPGA. In that case, experimenters ended up with a circuit much smaller than expected, but that only worked within a very small temperature range--that of the lab in which they were evolved.

nonbeard 2010-02-19 04:35:04