http://radiantmatrix.org A collection of thoughts and links from the minds of geeks Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:46:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en >We are the heaven in which our dead reside. -- Zapski, on [Skepchick](http://skepchick.org/blog/2009/08/ai-customize-your-afterlife/comment-page-2/#comment-75952) The whole text, because it's worth preserving: > In seriousness, I as an atheist think that there is no soul in the dualistic sense. However, I think that what is essentially us leaves our bodies at all times, every ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2009/167 >> You should do poetry slams. (imagine "run superduper wi-fi haxor proggy" to the sound of a bass slapping. ) > > I'm imagining it, but it's really hard to get a good rhythm out of a dead fish. (Slashdot, [here](http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1350423&cid=29229359) and [here](http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1350423&cid=29229591)) http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2009/162 > *security* is an illusion. It’s a heuristic we draw from observing the coincidence of things not going badly for a while at a stretch. -- [Merlin Mann](http://www.43folders.com/2009/01/12/60-percent) http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2009/159 > A full coffee cup is a two-handed affair. The coffee must be blistering hot and a threat sitting three inches to the left of my keyboard. Reaching for my mug is a commitment. It is a reminder that, “Hey, we’re focusing elsewhere for moment. Don’t screw this up. I’m ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2009/155 > I called [KitchenAid] to whine a little bit and to hear why they made a meltable teapot. I counted how many prompts I had to press in order to talk to a human being. It was NINE. > > ... > > The last step was a recording that they were closed and ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/154 Sometimes the comments are better than the article: > Extreme Christians call him a terrorist Muslim plotting to overthrow the USA. Terrorist Muslims plotting to overthrow the USA call him a Jew plotting to take over the Middle East. I think I just confused myself. -- OneAegis, in a comment on ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/153 Sometimes advertising can be so very cool: Sea Orchestra from Shy the Sun on Vimeo. Definitely pop over to Vimeo and watch the HD version! http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/151 > The gay lifestyle involves stuff like doing laundry and taking the dog out. -- [comment](http://www.flickr.com/photos/burstein/2979979221/comment72157608484705008/) by marymactavish at [Flickr](http://flickr.com) http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/150 Via [DaringFireball][0]: [A first look at Windows 7][1] from ArsTechnica. I'm struck by how many of the 'new and innovative features' are essentially re-implementations of OS X features. * The new taskbar is an awful lot like the Dock * The "peek" feature is a lot like Exposé (yeah, a different interface to ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/149 > Politics and religion are just like software and hardware. They all suck, the documentation is provably incorrect, and all the vendors tell lies. -- *Andrew Dalgleish*, in the Monastery http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/148 > According to the report, many girls with extremely high aptitude for math exist, but they are rarely identified in the U.S. because they veer from a career trajectory in the mathematical sciences due to the low respect American culture places on math, systemic flaws in the U.S. public school ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/147 > Continuing the theme of turning healthy snacks into deadly artery bombs, an apple was sliced, battered, and fried. What emerged from the oil was something so delicious it made Mother Nature weep at her own incompetence in the face of what man hath wrought. -- *[Skepchick: Critical Thinking at ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/146 > "You know that sign in the lobby that says improve everything we touch? Please don't." -- Francis S. Blake, CEO Home Depot Context: speaking on how Home Depot has had so many initiatives that it wasn't succeeding at any of them. Source: [*Home Depot's total rehab*, pg 2](http://bit.ly/info.php?id=1hh1zq). Retrieved ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/145 The venrable NeuroLogica Blog writes, in [Teaching Creationism](http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=376): > Reverend Professor Michael Reis, Director of Education at the Royal Society has [recently advocated](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7612152.stm) the "teach the controversy" approach to creationism in schools. The author goes on to point out the flaws with said "teach the controversy" approach. Unfortunately, while I entirely ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/143 SQL statements in code should *always* be written using binding. There are a very few edge cases where this is not possible: if you encounter one, you need to re-think your approach so that you don't need to use that edge case (e.g. perhaps a stored proc or trigger ... http://radiantmatrix.org/radiantmatrix/2008/142