Gambling with high stakes

April 4, 2012

in Economics, Law, Politics, Psychology, Science, The environment

As with other high-risk activities, I think gambling on climate change is irresponsible and reckless, even if the people making that bet turn out to be right. If a person runs across a minefield in order to experience the thrill of danger, few people are likely to congratulate them for their bold choice in the [...]

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Software defined radio

April 2, 2012

in Geek stuff, Internet matters, Science, Security

Software defined radio (SDR) is one of the things I am most curious about. There is just so much data being exchanged via radio these days. It’s strange to think about the constant complex pattern of broadcasting happening all around us. This video gives a bit of a taste of what is happening in one [...]

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Undersea fibre optic cables

March 25, 2012

in Geek stuff, Internet matters, Science

The first fibre optic communication cables to be lain across the floor of the Arctic Ocean are being built now. For those who haven’t seen it, Neal Stephenson’s 1996 Wired article: “Mother Earth Mother Board” is a fascinating essay on undersea communication cables in general.

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Thinking longer-term

March 22, 2012

in Geek stuff, Science

Drilling a chamber for the Clock of the Long Now (concept explained further)

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Open thread: Antibiotic resistance

March 21, 2012

in Geek stuff, Science

I frequently see interesting stories about antibiotic resistance, and it seems to be quite an important issue. Back in 2008, I wrote about a Canadian initiative to try to deal with the dangerous bugs. More recently, tuberculosis has progressed from extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) to “totally drug-resistant TB” (TDR-TB). We are going to need some [...]

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2012 vernal equinox

March 20, 2012

in Geek stuff, Science, The outdoors

The coming of spring is an astronomical and biological phenomenon. The moment of the vernal equinox – the start of spring in the northern hemisphere – is the moment where the length of days is changing fastest. Biologically, spring is characterized by the re-emergence of life. In particular, it is characterized by the resumption of [...]

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We’re made of cheap stuff

March 6, 2012

in Economics, Geek stuff, Science

As a child, I visited Vancouver’s Science World on what was probably a monthly basis. I knew most of the stage shows by heart (‘Arcs and sparks’ was the most energetic, complete with exploding pickle), along with the dramatic vocal introduction at the OMNIMAX theatre. One display I remember well was located in the main [...]

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Lark sleep monitor

March 1, 2012

in Daily updates, Geek stuff, Psychology, Science, Toronto

For the past couple of months, I have been using a Lark sleep monitor. It’s an accelerometer that you wear on your wrist at night that interfaces with your iPhone. It both works as an alarm clock and as a measuring device that provides data on the length and quality of your sleep. You set [...]

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Googling the Cyborg

February 23, 2012

in Bombs and rockets, Books and literature, Geek stuff, Internet matters, Psychology, Science, Travel

In his engaging essay “Googling the Cyborg”, William Gibson effectively argues that the expectation that ‘the cyborg’ will be a human being with an electronic eye and a robot arm is mistaken. The cyborg – he argues – exists in the physical interactions between human beings and machines: “The electrons streaming into a child’s eye [...]

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Meteorologists on climate

February 10, 2012

in Geek stuff, Science, The environment

The other day, I saw a Vancouver Sun article called “Meteorologists split on global warming“. I was struck in particular by the sub-headline: “Fewer than one in five specialists in the U.S. see human influence as the only driver”. At first glance, may seem like a garden-variety example of climate change skepticism from experts in [...]

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