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Month: September 2005 (Page 2 of 2)

“You” are not “yourself.”

A computer scientist looks at the brain:

“You” are just a subroutine, and a recently-added one at that. You’re like a user-mode driver that gets access to certain kernel data, but you only see and control what the kernel lets you.

Read the rest

New Orleans stories.

Unbelievable stories of indifference and brutality on the part of so-called rescuers and emergency personnel:

Hurricane Katrina — Our Experiences (EMS Network, also cited in Daily Kos)
Photojournalists Covering Katrina Fall Victim to Growing Violence, Chaos (National Press Photographers’ Ass’n)

Plus one story of how well things could go when people organize themselves and there’s a sympathetic authority in place: EMS at Hilton New Orleans Riverside (EMS Network)… Read the rest

Disaster survival tips.

Disaster survival tips from Andreas Ramos.

How to Recharge Your Cellphone with Common Batteries

1) Turn off your cellphone. Reserve battery power as much as possible. Turn down screen brightness, turn off vibrate, turn down sound.

2) To recharge a cellphone with ordinary batteries, cut the power supply cord near the charger.… Read the rest

Technology and disaster management.

One of the big problems in the New Orleans area right now–perhaps the biggest problem–is figuring out what needs doing, and how to do it. Even with accurate information, relief agencies like FEMA and the Red Cross are clearly having difficulty synthesizing that data, formulating a plan, and following through in an organized way.… Read the rest

Propagating the species.

California’s State Senate passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriages yesterday. Opposing state Senator Tom McClintock objected, saying that “Marriage is the institution by which we propagate our species and inculcate our young.”

Hmm. Actually, sex is how we propagate our species, and education is how we inculcate our young.… Read the rest

Horror in New Orleans.

Like everyone, I feel shock, horror, and awful fascination as I watch the news stories and photos of the disaster in New Orleans and Mississippi. But the situation also makes me angry—incredibly angry—at the federal government, whose incompetence and obliviousness to the whole situation seems increasingly unbelievable.… Read the rest

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