Category: General
-
"The patent system is not just broken, it is poisonous."
Good article from ZDnet: Bill Gates [once said] that software patents had the potential to put the industry at “a complete standstill” and with good reason. If the sort of protection Microsoft now claims for itself had been available to CP/M then, Microsoft would never have created its monopoly, nor amassed a fraction of its…
-
Are politically-incorrect Google search results being censored?
I recently searched for the words “capitalism definition” on Google, and saw this at the bottom of the first results page: In response to a legal request submitted to Google, we have removed 2 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read more about the request at ChillingEffects.org. When I followed the link,…
-
Egyptian Cleric Warns Muslim Youth of the Upcoming Valentine's Day
Many more clips at Memri TV.
-
1 in 31 U.S. Adults are Behind Bars, on Parole or Probation
1 in 31 U.S. Adults are Behind Bars, on Parole or Probation. The majority of these convicts are morally innocent – they are political prisoners – victims of the governments “war” on forbidden plants and chemicals. I wonder how this percentage compares with Stalinist Russia? No, I’m not equating the two. But when masked…
-
Ideas for improving writing
George Orwell’s essay on the use of the English language encouraged me to think about how to improve my writing by applying lessons from neuroscience and cognitive science. One idea is to optimize cognitive load. By cognitive load, I mean the effort it takes to understand the ideas I want to convey. Effective writing needs to…
-
New video by John Allison on the financial crisis at AynRand.org
View accompanying slides The media, politicians, and even many businessmen have blamed today’s financial meltdown on capitalism. But in this talk, John Allison—the longest-tenured CEO of a top-25 financial services company—argues that this crisis is a legacy of the government’s anti-capitalist policies. Mr. Allison uses his unique inside view of the financial services industry to…
-
Bjorn Lomborg: Our priorities for saving the world
The vast majority of wealthy people in the developed world prefer to doom billions of people to death and poverty than to doubt the environmentalist/socialist propaganda taught in government schools.
-
Are patents stifling innovation in mobile devices?
In 2007, I wrote why software patents are not a good idea. It’s easy to find examples of patent abuse but its not often to find a company that uses patents that stifle a whole industry. Such may be the case with the Apple iPhone. I purchased an iPhone shortly after it came out, because…
-
My Mac blog
Introducing DotMac: I got a MacBook laptop as a personal birthday present in October, and started a blog for Mac users with tutorials and programming tips . Popular posts so far: using a Mac with a Windows pc and organizing your music library.
-
I'm getting hitched!
According to the FeedBurner counter on the left, I have 105 regular readers, so for those who haven’t heard elsewhere, I proposed to Sarah, my lovely girlfriend of two and a half years shortly after midnight, December 31st. Sarah and I met at my Examined Life philosophy meetup group. We plan to wed sometime this…