Category: Uncategorized

Wayback Machine. New Scientist article via Danny about the 100 tera-bytes of web archives. [Quote] The average life of a web page is 100 days. [Unquote] See my broken links plea below.
[Quote] And where is the Wayback archive ? physically? It’s now in three places, two in the San Francisco Bay Area and one at the new Library of Alexandria in Egypt. If you ask someone, “What do you know about the Great Library of Alexandria?” they mostly say, “Isn’t that the one that fried?” So don’t just have one copy. Take special care of collections that are really important to the definition of cultures. [Unquote] I have soft spot for the Alexandria Library since I was there when it opened to the public. Blogged a link earlier since I had in my hands (in Alexandria, but not in the library) an important first edition relating to T. E. Lawrence (one of my obsessions) which I enquired about bringing home to UK, but discovered the new library had the enlightened policy of maintaining Egypt’s legacy of published texts and forbidding export. – (link here later !).

Dismantling Walls – “Dad,” he said. “You know I said I want to be a doctor when I grow up?” “Yes, son.” “And I want to be a footballer, too?” “Yes.” “Well, now I’ve decided I want to be a martyr.” [Davos via John Robb] Don’t normally link to national politics in this blog but this is a powerful message that cannot be ignored.

The Plot Thickens. Doh ! – I didn’t even know Larry had been an Apple director – now he’s bought a slug of shares. Should we care ? (link via Adam Curry)

Epictetus Says … Adam Curry’s latest link to the “quotations page” throws up some bon mots from Epictetus – too true.

Upgrade Denied. Cringely tells it like it is as usual in his report on Comdex from a week ago.

News Just In – Stress is Psychological. If there was ever any doubt about the mind-matter link – here’s more “scientific” evidence via Science Daily of anecdotal truth that physical health is (at least in part) a state of mind.

All Human Life is Here. Another gem via Jorn – a Guardian review of “Sex Crimes: From Renaissance to Enlightenment” by William Naphy [Quote] Naphy’s careful study draws heavily on the official court reports from that unforgiving time and yet manages to see past them to the warm, messy human dramas that lie beneath. [Unquote]. It was ever so – “Official Reports” always disguise the mess [buzzing, booming confusion of paradox] of reality – caveat emptor according to Quinn and Cameron (see Manifesto).

Dynamic Bio-Nano-Machines. Thanks to [Jorn] for this Science Daily link. Seems even apparently stable (static) genetic protein structures in living cells are just the “emergent” properties of a continuum of dynamic interactions between components in the protein soup. This dynamic / static levels issue is cropping up in more and more fundamental ways.

Is The Answer 42 ? Thanks to John Robb for this link. How long before 42 becomes the number of dimensions required to make string theory into the unifying theory of life, the universe and everything – currently now stands at 26 apparently. What planet (in what dimension) are these guys on ?

Jim Naughtie on BBC’s Today this morning, interviewing some expert about the latest conclusions, that prescribing below strength spectacle lenses was actually damaging to the future eyesight of child wearers, got the answers “Yes”, “Yes, that’s right” and “Yes, exactly” to his first three questions and was left floundering momentarily like a fish (flounder ?) out of water at not needing to probe more deeply. A magic moment.