sbirchall

7 ms·

1.
by sbirchall 12y ago
According to google/youtube anonymity positively encourages inhumane treatment? ;)
2.
by sbirchall 12y ago
I thought I recognised that from the Stephen Baxter/Arthur C. Clarke book "Time" - well worth reading.
3.
by sbirchall 12y ago
I thought you might like this: http://qntm.org/destroy
4.
by sbirchall 12y ago
Slightly related and because it has intrigued me since I read the paper I thought people may find IBMs "History Flow" project interesting? The Project no longer appears to be documented on IBM site but the Wikipedia article has ev
5.
by sbirchall 12y ago
Good point. However the comment betrays a complete lack of understanding both when it comes to the point being made by the video, and the wider implication that "any other hip hop video" is riddled with misogyny and male chauvinis
6.
by sbirchall 12y ago
If you think that the language and misogyny used in this video is safe for work - despite the very obvious irony/parody - then it's no wonder you missed the point.
7.
by sbirchall 12y ago
Me neither til I finally picked up a book on Giger and there's the Windowlicker staring at me from the first page I flicked to. I always bought into a rumour (possibly just amongst my friends) that it was a munge of Aphex Twin's f
8.
by sbirchall 12y ago
http://www.aphextwin.nu/visuals/98319764035682.shtml
9.
by sbirchall 12y ago
A truly unique talent. In memory, you should check out Aphex Twin's "Window Licker" directed by Chris Cunningham (HN will probably be most familiar with Bjork's "All is Full of Love" music video). A whole host
10.
by sbirchall 12y ago
Yes, this is what I was angling for. I think it's a pre-occupation of many of the species in IMBs Culture series if I remember correctly. Where those species that went the long way round (mostly water dwellers) hold species like us in
11.
by sbirchall 12y ago
I share your optimism and I'm a big believer that it will not be long before Carl Sagan's "Contact" event will happen, not from the stars but here on earth - my inclination is to suspect Grey Whales, but there are a good
12.
by sbirchall 12y ago
"I could easily see someone's job being to figure out which (presumably innocent) people to "target" for the sake of ensuring a full or nearly full data collection." Twitter makes that job damn easy, don't you
13.
by sbirchall 12y ago
You know the best eggs in the world? Seagull Eggs. The harvesting of them from the wild is highly protected and I've only ever met a few old boys who used to poach them but I've read a few places (wild cookery and survival books)
14.
by sbirchall 12y ago
I find it particularly galling that "Death with dignity" is "a silly loaded catchphrase designed to put opponents off balance" and yet "Death with courage" is something you throw in to support that belief. You
15.
by sbirchall 12y ago
Yeah that's my experience down to a T. I once heard one of the top generals talking on the radio about the state of the MoD and he was saying that the basic career path was to suck up a decade or two of dirt before finding a desk job s
16.
by sbirchall 12y ago
I want to study the use of AI in determining genetic factors to disease and the neuro-degenerative ailments that the worlds increasingly older populations are facing "but finances and circumstances killed that dead". It's rea
17.
by sbirchall 12y ago
Also reading Edward O. Wilson (aka "Lord of the Ants") or watching any of the fine documentaries about him is well worth it. I highly recommend "Consillience" - it's written in a fresh and lively style and it can&#x
18.
by sbirchall 13y ago
There is a soundbite used to dub over the top of replays in Premiership football as broadcast on terrestrial TV here in the UK. Once you notice it's exactly the same sound every time it's something you can never not notice and it&
19.
by sbirchall 13y ago
yeah I wouldn't say _Every_ but a very large majority most certainly are. I used to delight in ruining people's enjoyment of nature documentaries by pointing out that anything walking on snow is the sound of custard powder being c
20.
by sbirchall 13y ago
That's exactly it, cheers for that - the brewing book I use mentions it's a traditional method but seems to imply for Sherry, but maybe I'm just not remembering correctly. Thanks for clearing it up. I'm in half a mind to
21.
by sbirchall 13y ago
Take a look into the sherry making process if you can find a good resource. The (highly generalised) idea is to use several batches created yearly say, so that by the time you have made seven batches for example, the first batch is fully ma
22.
by sbirchall 13y ago
Quantum Bees: http://discovermagazine.com/1997/nov/quantumhoneybees1263 I know it's Discover and probably total crap, but I just love the idea.
23.
by sbirchall 13y ago
I think you added something to the conversation, and being the top comment it would seem so do other users. The comment made by 'joe_the_user, however, is shallow and pointless and advances the conversation in no direction but down. I
24.
by sbirchall 13y ago
"physical media has enormous problems for anything besides long term archival use" for those of us that consider music as art that is precisely the point, especially re: children browsing their parents collections
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by sbirchall 13y ago
I'm sorry I can't find the article I read (about 2 years ago and it may well have been from a HN link if anyone recognises it?). In said article it explains how since the Iraq invasion the entry requirements for the U.S. Marines h
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by sbirchall 13y ago
Psh, it's not the police that are the flashpoint IMO it is the marines. Their entry requirements are so lax it is beyond scary.
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by sbirchall 13y ago
Are you aware of the writings of Ernst Mayr[1]? In his book 'Toward a New Philosophy of Biology" there is a chapter on this very topic - how teleonomy has pervaded almost all of Biological science and how teleological statements,
28.
by sbirchall 13y ago
Ha, I've been saying for a while now that just such a thing is going to be declassified soon. My generations SR-71... equal parts beautiful and horrifying. For the cost of one fighter jet you could have a swarm of air-to-air/land
29.
by sbirchall 13y ago
To add to this, there is also a form of this known as as Astral Projection [1] and there is a great body of esoteric teaching about the common experiences of people who have achieved this. One may achieve access to a "place" known
30.
by sbirchall 13y ago
Odd question, but have you ever tried training your bees? I've read articles on the prospect of using bees to scan for chemical compounds in such a way so as to detect drugs/explosives/illness and I would really like to hear

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