All sorts of stuff before I do a major backup and upgrade... and I wonder I why keep these windows open, just so I can get around to blogging them.
WFMU's Beware of the Blog: Early Science Fiction Fanzines: A Cover Gallery: So you can see all the scary drawings of... oh, I can't even describe it.
It's not you, it's your books.
The World's Best Insulting Lines: or at least the most generic ones...
The most obvious advantage of classifying the forms of disagreement is that it will help people to evaluate what they read. In particular, it will help them to see through intellectually dishonest arguments. An eloquent speaker or writer can give the impression of vanquishing an opponent merely by using forceful words. In fact that is probably the defining quality of a demagogue. By giving names to the different forms of disagreement, we give critical readers a pin for popping such balloons.
Such labels may help writers too. Most intellectual dishonesty is unintentional. Someone arguing against the tone of something he disagrees with may believe he's really saying something. Zooming out and seeing his current position on the disagreement hierarchy may inspire him to try moving up to counterargument or refutation.
But the greatest benefit of disagreeing well is not just that it will make conversations better, but that it will make the people who have them happier. If you study conversations, you find there is a lot more meanness down in DH1 than up in DH6. You don't have to be mean when you have a real point to make. In fact, you don't want to. If you have something real to say, being mean just gets in the way.
If moving up the disagreement hierarchy makes people less mean, that will make most of them happier. Most people don't really enjoy being mean; they do it because they can't help it.
(Via Making Light.)
Rutles Highway Revisited: cover songs of a parody band. I love it.
Happy Tax Day, Homeowners!: On the one hand, it's a gift; on the other, it's the only way to afford a house in some areas-- like where I live.
I Wanna Be an Internet Tough Guy: wait, I'm not? Who says so? I'll mess that %$#@! up!
I will make love with every virgin who defends the Internet.
Certain ISP's are planning to limit internet access in a way that infringes upon internet freedom or 'net neutrality'.
I'm using sex in a positive way to spread awareness. The reason why only virgins can apply is because I don't want to make this promise to such a large amount of people that I'll have to turn some down.
Net neutrality is paramount to safeguard free speech and innovation on the Internet. With only one arguably negative side-effect: an unusual amount of today's Internet users are virgin. That's a problem I intend to solve. In history, man has always waged war for freedom. Now it's time to obtain our freedom with love.
Sex is all over the net and yet it's still a big taboo for many. Using sex to spread awareness will be yet another big step to sexual freedom. This is just another great example of what's possible thanks to net neutrality.
Now why didn't anyone think of this when we were fighting the CDA? Oh right, we'd have violated the CDA...
Up With the New: A Second Center City for Las Vegas - New York Times:
On Thursday, the city will formally inaugurate a new urban core on a 61-acre, undeveloped parcel of land -- a project that some experts say is unprecedented in city planning. Called Union Park, its supporters hope it will revive the historic downtown just to the east, where the region's courthouses, government offices and oldest casinos are clustered.
More than $6 billion in mostly private money has been announced for five ambitious projects: an Alzheimer's research center, designed by Frank Gehry...
Okay, when building a place where a lot of Alzheimer's patients will be showing up, you probably shouldn't have the place look like this:
Poor buggers are confused enough already.
Comments (1)
Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed.
Pat Williams (10:10 PM on Tue Dec 2, 2008)
I liked your site.