Category: Uncategorized

Article in The Atlantic by Jonathan Rauch: Seeing Around Corners. It’s about simulations, complex systems, and applications of systems-based thinking to historical analysis of things like the fate of the Anasazi in the southwest.

Speaking of simulations that help you understand the world, I assume you know that Stephen Wolfram’s book on cellular automata that is going to explain everything is finally coming out in May? Read his Q&A section that has helpful answers to questions like “I want to study your kind of science. Where can I go to do that?” Here he his describing the basic idea behind his book:

What started my work on A New Kind of Science are the discoveries I made about what simple computer programs can do. One might have thought that if a program was simple it should only do simple things. But amazingly enough, that isn’t even close to correct. And in fact what I’ve discovered is that some of the very simplest imaginable computer programs can do things as complex as anything in our whole universe.

Meta-blog that everybody else reads but I just discovered: Virginia Postrel’s Dynamist.com. Her site was popular enough last year to bring in $1490.00 from Amazon tips and book referrals. It won’t pay the rent, but it sure sounds like more than most “tip me” blogs pull.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft is one weird dude. But don’t take my word for it.

I’m pleased with this: a stripped-down version of Photoshop called Photoshop Elements is available. I would have paid for it, but it came free with my new D-40 Olympus camera, so I’m doubly pleased. If it’s missing many features relative to the much more expensive Photoshop, I haven’t spotted them yet. I’m sure it IS missing high-end features, but as a non-power user, I’m happy to have a more reasonably priced Photoshop. I’ve used Photoshop for years at work and have gotten very fond of it, but it looks like the Photoshop Elements feature set is all I really need.

It’s fun to hear the voice behind the pictorial editorial voice. In this case, here’s a chance to listen to Tom Tomorrow of This Modern World fame. See what he thinks of the world. [seen on Matt Welch’s blog]

Here’s an intriguing picture story of a towboat taking an unexpected trip. The boat gets trapped against the bridge and then gets sucked underneath. You owe it to yourself to look at
the pictures.

Google around long enough, and you find the most amazing things. A search for the names of my parents turned up an interview they did that I had never seen before. The interviewer was asking them about the secrets of their long (50+ years) marriage. As Long As We Both Shall Live – Sally & Marcus.

Everybody’s talking about Six Degrees, but has anybody seen it? Here’s an interesting weblog report on software development at Creo, where they’re making Six Degrees. It references Joel Spolsky, and Joel Spolsky raves about them, and everybody seems to be having a fabulous time patting each other on the back. Good reading, tho’, and I’m looking forward to trying the product.

The West Virginia Surf Report is good stuff. Snide, cynical, and most important, funny. Any fool can be snide and cynical, but it takes work to be funny. As Jeff Kay, the site auteur, observes, “Yes, due to the recent well-publicized shortage of amateur websites produced by assholes who consider themselves to be clever, I’ve been drawn to the web — out of a powerful sense of civic duty.” [seen on BoingBoing]