hard-core
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Tuesday, December 7th, 2010Because using a longer, more verbose description in a heading is confusing and counter-intuitive. The purpose of larger, darker text is to highlight a single element. Ideally, this element is a word or a short phrase that thematically unites the contents which follow. Why is this a bug?
Culture of Secrecy
Monday, December 6th, 2010Secrecy and a scarcity of information are crucial to the continuation of the cronyism about which so many Americans complain. It astounds me how many of these same people who rail at the unhealthy, shadowy bonds between corporations, lobbyists and the government are now scandalised that an organisation like WikiLeaks is struggling to diminish the power of these linkages.
False Equivalence
Sunday, November 28th, 2010Again and again over the years, I’ve listened to people excuse Microsoft’s chronic insecurity and apparent inability to escape from its virus-infected legacy. This in spite of the fact that the nearly boundless contagion of the Microsoft world has yet to spread into other, increasingly popular areas of technology. The claim typically runs like this: [...]
Is this thing on…?
Thursday, November 11th, 2010(04:13:21 PM) gcrumb@gmail.com/70427720: what’s the password? (04:13:34 PM) gcrumb@gmail.com/70427720: (we are using ssl on this chat, right?) (04:14:02 PM) G: just pick a good one…you know how this works:) (04:14:11 PM) gcrumb@gmail.com/70427720: Heh (04:14:27 PM) G: and yes, this conversation is fully secure ! (04:14:48 PM) gcrumb@gmail.com/70427720: Let’s verify that…. (04:14:59 PM) gcrumb@gmail.com/70427720: I WANT [...]
Letter to a Young Turk
Thursday, October 21st, 2010Grow up, kid. Brace yourself. We’re living in one of the best, most prosperous times in human history, yet humanity is still the venal, nasty, selfish brute that wandered the veldt millions of years ago. Enjoy the miracle of our success, then devote some time to understanding in detail what it is that keeps us from wiping ourselves off the face of the planet.
… And welcome to the world. You’re going to love it, even if it doesn’t always love you.
Science & Virtue
Friday, July 2nd, 2010The reason scientists are not believed now is because there is a deliberate campaign in place to discredit them by any means. Because they know most people can’t or won’t read the actual journals, the same cynical geniuses who bald-faced lied about the effects of smoking are teaching a new generation that scientists as a class are motivated by the same venality, mendacity and say-anything-to-get-approval motivations as are the rest of the world.
It’s pretty easy for people to believe this, because we recognise that there’s some of this in all of us. Indeed, it’s trivially easy to find individual examples of greed, jealousy, laziness and other human weaknesses in any field. But it’s a lie, of course, because it’s not true of scientists as a class, and therefore not true of Science. Science, by definition, is the removal of these weaknesses from the pursuit of knowledge.
Strange Fruit
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010The purpose of this column is simple: I want us to stop beating, abusing and neglecting our women and to start loving, respecting and learning from them instead. And lest you expat men think yourselves exempt from this; you’re not. I’ve seen ni-Vanuatu women treated despicably by black and white alike.
If I seem angry, that’s because I am. I have encountered instances of children solicited for sex, fathers turning their wives out and taking up with their under-age daughters, dozens of cases of rape and abuse, and some acts of violence that would make your blood curdle.
None of these appeared in the news or even in the crime statistics. Few of them were ever dealt with under law or kastom. It’s as if they don’t exist.
Stuck in the Middle with Neil
Friday, June 18th, 2010Oy. Neil McAllister is at it again, saving the online world by describing how Mom & Pop shops can compete with the Amazons of the world. With retail giants like Tesco and even Sears building out programming interfaces (APIs) that will allow people to buy mattresses and microwave ovens with their mobile phones (srsly. ed.) , he claims that small businesses are more vulnerable than ever.
(You know, I once thought Fatal Exception was a quirky title for a column, but now I realise it’s just an accurate description of the cognitive processes of its author.)
Disaster? What Disaster?
Friday, May 28th, 2010I’m afraid that Data Disasters don’t exist, because we don’t want to believe they exist. It seems that in the esoteric world of noughts and ones, belief matters far more than empirical truth, making a true Data Disaster literally inconceivable.
No Silver Bullet
Monday, May 17th, 2010The recent prisoner escape has –quite understandably– raised emotions among Port Vila residents. Our collective inability to end this chronic threat has led many to call for drastic action in order to resolve the problem once and for all.
If only it were that easy.
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