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You will believe in hope again, for the first time
Via kottke, an alternate trailer for The Shining.
Seeing around the corner with Google maps.
NYSee takes live traffic feeds of NYC street corners and maps them to google maps. Pretty sweet. Via the incredible (though lousy with buzzwords) eHub.
The Hawthorne Effect
Test results improve as a result of measuring them. Though the study was originally undertaken in an industrial context, I've found this to be true with any personal or business improvement initiative. If, for instance, you start watching your weight religiously, it will improve. Same with your bank account. We instinctively start playing games with the numbers, making small subconscious choices to put things back on the right path.
Of course the downside is that unobserved metrics may suffer as a result. If I start watching my weight, and successfully start to move it down, do I start losing muscle mass or energy if I made the changes in a damaging way?
Maybe the key is to watch all relevant stats about your life on a regular basis, effectively becoming a human Sim. I dunno. But I might start watching my bank account more closely.
Trinity, without the leather pants
Do you feel that a greater world lies beyond what we take to be reality? You could take the red pill, or give out the wafer. Just beware of Special Agent Luther.
Or if 5 esses are too many
You could just try one: sugar. Seth Roberts has lost 40 pounds by drinking about 275 calories of sugar water daily. The theory is unique: your body learns to stock up on calories when it finds an appealing and plentiful food source, so rob your body of a strong flavor/calorie connection by supplementing the diet with the blandest calories out there. Is it kooky? Sure, but it's worth a buck twenty worth of corn syrup to find out.
Simple and free weight control advice.
The no-S diet: No sweets, no snacks, no seconds, except s-days.
Suggestions on what to do in undisclosed locations
A Gulf coast local gives Cheney a taste of his own potty mouth. (link may be busted, but mirrors abound)
From here:
Friday, August 26
GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor]
GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honor??, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]
Saturday, August 27
5AM ??? KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]
GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: ???I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.?? [Office of the Governor]
FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: ???Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.?? [White House]
Governor did it right. No one showed up.
So have you heard the latest one about the Governor of Louisiana failing to ask for help? That Bush was completely hamstrung, as much as he wanted to send in the national guard, because the request must come from the Gov's office?
The City of Louisiana
Keith Olberman's editorial on MSNBC is pretty spot-on. And surprisingly pointed for a cable news station. I'm pretty impressed.
George at the Monopoly Board
???Damn!?? yells the Commander-in-Chief, and he moves the little pewter car 5 spaces to Boardwalk. His opponent smiles and looks at the back of the boardwalk card.
???Let???s see??? that???ll be $2,000.??
George inspects the dice to see if they're loaded. When he took over the game from Bill, there were tens of thousands placed neatly under the board, stacked in each denomination. He owned most of the property around the board. Good stuff too: Pennsylvania, Pacific, North Carolina. Now, it's all gone. He???ll have to mortgage his remaining property, Baltic and Mediterranean, just to make this payment.
How did it happen? Was it the constant trips to the fridge for another beer? Was it the half-assed attempt to gain control of the other side of the board? The bum deal he???d made with Al Saud, who owned the utilities?
Nah, it was the dice. 36 spins of the board, he never landed on Boardwalk before. Can't possibly blame it on poor judgment.
Act of god.
