Rough Drafts

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. You have no direct access to the kernel’s process space, but you can

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

Witness the awe-inspiring rides of Chunk 666.

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 sup

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 followin

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 h

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 increa

For all you neo-con mommies and your impressionable offspring: Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! (thanks, Scot)

I recently started up Palm Desktop after 6 or more months of not using it at all, and was treated to this massive cascade of alarm dialogs. (Click the image to see the whole cascade in all its glory.) Thank god for that “close all” button!

NPR had a chat earlier this week with the two fathers of the Internet, Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn. Interesting factoid from the interview: Cerf said that he is very hard of hearing, so that’s one of the reasons he welcomed the advent of email so eagerly.

Roughly half of Americans believe that extraterrestrial life exists–and that aliens are visiting the Earth, zooming around in saucers and secretly probing hapless human bodies. The Guardian has the entertaining details. The punchline comes in the author’s bio: Turns out he’s an astronomer at SETI. I

Virginians riot over $50, 4-year-old iBooks: Va. Laptop Sale Turns Into a Stampede “I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, ‘Bam,’” the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station. “They