Enjoyed: False Religion
False Religion by double affairEnjoyed: Vodka
Vodka by Mike & RichRead: The TARP Is Dead, Long Live the TARP
Shared by Gabriel KentCongress gave Paulson $700 billion, and the first thing he did was give $125 billion to his pals at the nine biggest banks and investment banks in the country. Never one to display ingratitude, he gave $10 billion to Goldman Sachs, the firm he had headed before passing through the revolving door to the Treasury. So generous was he that he handed out $290 billion of the $350 billion that Congress authorized him to spend immediately.
So... there is no credit freeze and bad paper won't be bought afterall... basically, we were jacked.
Enjoyed: Broken Registry Flusher
Broken Registry Flusher by SK123Enjoyed: manah
manah by KalxEnjoyed: Gram
Gram by AcusticEnjoyed: No Such Angel
No Such Angel by A Bit CrusherEnjoyed: Placing Blocks in the Globe
Placing Blocks in the Globe by AwtRead: The Myth of Good Government
Shared by Gabriel KentOne of the great and most persistent errors of classical liberals is to believe in "good government," a government that does "what it is supposed to do." There is nothing the state can do, and which society needs done, that cannot be done far more better by the market. Another point that is just as telling: no state empowered to do what is supposedly necessary will restrain itself to those things. It will expand as much as public opinion will tolerate.
I confess, it is still difficult for me to dispose the state from protection of third parties... though I do see the problem.
Read: I.O.U.S.A. Misses Point
Shared by Gabriel Kent
Bah, I had hopes for this movie... sounds like they really screwed it up :/
Read: Rethinking Churchill
Shared by Gabriel KentChurchill was from first to last a Man of the State, of the welfare state and of the warfare state, and while Churchill never had a principle he did not in the end betray, this does not mean that there was no slant to his actions, no systematic bias. There was, and that bias was towards lowering the barriers to state power.
Wow. That is a much different Churchill than the one learned about in school.. this was a good read.
Enjoyed: Your Reflection
Your Reflection by MetricksEnjoyed: Koroleva
Koroleva by Solar-XEnjoyed: physical
physical by Lo.maxEnjoyed: 02_Cut_Fire_Wood_They_Will_Go_Through_A_Wood_Can_Here_Mushrooms_Grow_EP
02_Cut_Fire_Wood_They_Will_Go_Through_A_Wood_Can_Here_Mushrooms_Grow_EP by Cut Fire WoodEnjoyed: lounge holiday
lounge holiday by LabtobEnjoyed: Zelda Theme Remix
Zelda Theme Remix by Cerebral Sound PropagationEnjoyed: Dasha 1,2,3,4…..
Dasha 1,2,3,4..... by Solar-XEnjoyed: Dracula Raper Of Souls (8-bit club mix)
Dracula Raper Of Souls (8-bit club mix) by Vampyrica Blood RoyalEnjoyed: Anubian Bells (Amorphs Edit)
Anubian Bells (Amorphs Edit) by The Mental AttackEnjoyed: The girl who loved a morning rain
The girl who loved a morning rain by Two Trees on EarthEnjoyed: Kill ‘em all
Kill 'em all by KoulomekRead: How to Use the New Google Web Search RSS Feeds
Shared by Gabriel Kent
RSS search feeds... great news finally.
Google's been the lone hold out among major search engines on RSS but the company quietly enabled feeds for web search results this week. The offering is pretty limited and frustrating, you have to go through Google Alerts to get an obscure RSS URL, but we offer a tutorial and some strategic advice in this post.
Web search RSS is useful for being alerted whenever search results for your keywords or link have changed; subscribing to at least a few searches will let you know when Google users are seeing something new in the first few pages of search results for your company name, for example.
Sponsor
How to Get the Feeds
All the other major search engines make it really easy to grab a feed for any web search, but Google is probably concerned about spammers finding bizarre and unscrupulous uses for its feeds. We're all inconvenienced as a result.
To get a feed for a Google search you have to go to the web page for Google Alerts and set up an alert for your search. You can enter most queries here, including site: queries. (site:http://readwriteweb.com semantic for example.) You should select "web" instead of the default "comprehensive" if you're just interested in tracking web search results.
"Feed" isn't an option in the initial drop down menu of delivery options, you've got to select email first. After you've done that, look at your collection of alerts and click to edit the one you want by RSS. At this point "feed" is an option in the drop down menu. Select it and you'll be shown an RSS URL. Throw that puppy in your favorite feed reader and you're ready to rock and roll.
The feed will deliver any new links that show up in the top 20 search results for your query. That's pretty limited, but most people don't look beyond the first 20 results anyway. That means that this is good for high-level reputation tracking but not very good for discovery of new, more obscure pages of interest.
The RSS URLs that Google gives you are based on an arbitrary number and don't contain the text characters of your query. That means you can't build more feeds by simply editing the URLs, you have to go back in through Alerts and repeat the proccess for every feed of interest.
Update: One day after we wrote this post, the official Google Blog just announced the availability of feed alerts as well.
More Advanced Options
Here's how we're using the new Google search feeds. We've grabbed feed URLs for searches for A. our names, B. our company name, C. our company URL and (just for fun) one for each of those three items without the other two. For example: "Richard MacManus" -readwriteweb -http://readwriteweb.com.
That gave us a small pile of feeds, which we then ran through our favorite RSS splicing and deduplication service (we used Yahoo Pipes but if you're not comfortable with Pipes then Feed.informer.com is really easy to use). We spliced all these feeds together, filtered for duplicates and then threw the resulting feed into our highest priority feed reading system.
Now we can track our high level reputations constantly, without being paranoid about it. We might do this for concept searches as well so that if someone new starts ranking really high for topics we specialize in (semantic web, RSS) then we'll know about them and never look ignorant at parties.
If we were interested in getting an RSS feed for Google web search for discovery, more than just reputation tracking, we might do an "advanced search," increase the results displayed from 10 to 100 and then use Dapper.net to scrape a feed of results from that page.
All of this is more complicated than it ought to be, but once you set up even the most basic feed options then you don't have to think about it again. Though it isn't perfect, we do appreciate Google making these feeds available.
DiscussRead: nightmarebrunette: sachafedor: fish_bear
Shared by Gabriel Kent
This pic is great on many levels.
sachafedor: fish_bear
Read: Can Friedman’s Money Rule Stabilize the Economy?
Shared by Gabriel KentContrary to Friedman, the boom is not just about an increase in the rate of growth of the money supply; it is also about various nonproductive activities that spring up on the back of the expanding money-supply rate of growth. Furthermore, an economic bust is not about a fall in the rate of growth of the money supply; it is about the elimination of various nonproductive activities on account of the decline in the rate of growth of the money supply.
I agree, Friedman's fixed inflation rule still creates money from thin air, which is a bad thing. However, I think Friedman would have agreed too. I think his point in such a rule is that it was a step in the right direction, eventually invalidating the Fed altogether. Friedman was all about expediency, so his fixed rate money rule was not an end but a means to the end of the Fed and funny money.
Read: Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature
Shared by Gabriel KentEconomists of this century of the broadest vision and the keenest insight — men such as Ludwig von Mises, Frank H. Knight, and F.A. Hayek — came early to the conclusion that mastery of pure economic theory was not enough, and that it was vital to explore related and fundamental problems of philosophy, political theory, and history.
I used a similar argument in a recent debate.. but mine was a bit more simple: competition matters, otherwise we wouldn't be here, evolution would see to that.
Enjoyed: Valley of the Shadows
Valley of the Shadows by Origin UnknownEnjoyed: Flyover
Flyover by Asian Dub FoundationRead: A Short History of Mises Institute Publishing
Shared by Gabriel KentThe Mises Institute has never believed in withholding education. We've never closed these treasures behind locked walls. We've never hesitated to make ideas available to as many people as possible, insofar as technology has permitted it. Our focus has never been growth as such but rather service. The growth part takes care of itself.
a remarkable story.
Read: Is the Supreme Court Supreme?
Shared by Gabriel KentIf Congress has the power to restrain the Supreme Court, should it use it? Would not doing so remove a necessary check on Congress? William J. Quirk does not think so. In his view — a Jeffersonian one — Congress is the dominant branch of the American government; unlike the courts, it is directly subject to the will of the people.
wow, I didn't realize congress could limit the surpreme courts juristiction.
Enjoyed: Robert Ludlum’s The Arctic Event (Unabridged), Part 1
Robert Ludlum's The Arctic Event (Unabridged), Part 1 by James H. CobbEnjoyed: Devil May Care
Devil May Care by qpeEnjoyed: At the Edge of the World You Will Still Float
At the Edge of the World You Will Still Float by Telefon Tel AvivRead: Get Government Out of Coin Manufacture
Shared by Gabriel KentCoin dealers and collectors are still reeling from the US Mint's announcement that it had run out of American Eagle gold coins. But what ought to surprise every American isn't that a government agency came up short. It's that the US government should be making little metal discs at all. Now socialism is dead, but not when it comes to coining. So coin shortages keep breaking out, as they have ever since governments first monopolized coin making in ancient times.
The gov is coin production by force... almost seems sinister.
Read: Get Government Out of Coin Manufacture
Shared by Gabriel KentCoin dealers and collectors are still reeling from the US Mint's announcement that it had run out of American Eagle gold coins. But what ought to surprise every American isn't that a government agency came up short. It's that the US government should be making little metal discs at all. Now socialism is dead, but not when it comes to coining. So coin shortages keep breaking out, as they have ever since governments first monopolized coin making in ancient times.
Great argument.
Read: Diminishing Marginal Utility: It’s a Law
Shared by Gabriel KentIt should be evident that the law of marginal utility should be accorded just that epistemological status: a law. As Rothbard explains (and as Carl Menger and others showed before him), this theorem, which can be deduced from the action axiom, is more than merely empirically demonstrable: it is irrefutably true
marginal utility decreases, m is more desirable than m+1... supposedly ;)
Read: Invention: Self-replicating materials
Shared by Gabriel KentMicron-scale particles that self-organize when in solution into units able to reproduce, using a DNA coating, have been claimed in a patent application filed by NYU scientists. (Source: http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/invention/dn15108-invention-selfreplicating-materials.html)
amazing :)
Read: How the CNN Holographic Interview System Works
Shared by Gabriel KentCNN's "holographic" election coverage uses 35 HD cameras pointed at different angles at the remote subject in a ring. Computers in the CNN studio then merge the video feeds into a composite image that simulates a Star-Wars-style hologram.
heh, cool ;)
Also see: Election-night news to co-star latest technology (Source: http://gizmodo.com/5076663/how-the-cnn-holographic-interview-system-works)
Read: Hot nanotube sheets produce music on demand
Shared by Gabriel KentSheets made of carbon nanotubes behave like a loudspeaker when zapped with a varying electric current, say researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing and could lead to new generation of cheap, flat speakers and even talking clothing. The sound is generated by the thermoacoustic effect. The flexible nanotube sheets can be stretched or flexed into complicated shapes and still produce sound, and when fully stretched, the sheets are transparent and so they could be attached to the front of an LCD screen to replace standard speakers, or stitched into clothing to create "singing and speaking jackets." (Source: http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn15098-hot-nanotube-sheets-produce-music-on-demand.html)
nice!
Read: Whole Body Muscle Gene Therapy Progress
Shared by Gabriel KentUniversity of Missouri researchers have found a delivery method for gene therapy that can reach every muscle of the body in large animals and could eventually cure human diseases like muscular dystrophy. Whole body muscle gene therapy could also create the ultimate in human running speed and strength. (Source: http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/11/whole-body-gene-therapy-progress.html)
Wow, the special olympics might take on a whole new meaning.
Read: Scientists Identify Machinery that Helps Make Memories
Shared by Gabriel KentDuke University Medical Center researchers have identified a missing-link molecule that helps to explain the process of plasticity (rearranging neural connections in learning and forming memories) and could lead to new therapies. The myosin Vb molecule moves new receptors to the synapse via actin filaments so that the neuron can respond more strongly and strengthen connections. The finding may suggest new therapies for treating memory loss, psychiatric disease, and ways to improve brain development. Duke University news (Source: )
That's actual a pretty big deal.
Read: SkyV HD Virtual Skylight uses high-rez video for super realism
Shared by Gabriel Kent
Ahh virtual walls cometh...
There's no need to punch a hole in your roof and ceiling if you have a SkyV HD Virtual Skylight from Sky Factory. Sure, you've been able to get Sky Factory's fake skylights with static scenes for a while now, but this is way better than that. Behind that convincing-looking window frame lie three HD LCD displays, showing scenes of fantastic skies, changing seasons, birds flying over, trees swaying in the breeze, and changing seasons from all over the world.
This is a fantastic idea. We'd like to see the concept taken even further, with the displayed scenery corresponding to the time of day and season. Or how about mounting an HD camera outside your locale, and seeing the sky as it looks at that moment? Or at night, slap a telephoto lens on that baby and zoom in for tight shots of the moon, stars, planets and galaxies.
Click Continue to see an autoplaying video of the SkyV in action:
tweet: “Regarding division of labor, information is now our harvest.” - gk
Enjoyed: System Software
System Software by Simon Boswell & Chris WhittenEnjoyed: Burn:Cycle Theme
Burn:Cycle Theme by Simon Boswell & Chris WhittenEnjoyed: Superyou
Superyou by International PonyEnjoyed: Leaving Home
Leaving Home by International PonyRead: Has Libertarianism Ended?
Shared by Gabriel KentThe recent financial crisis has been a source of new hope for those who despise capitalism. According to Jacob Weisberg, the current crisis is the result of the lack of new regulations rather than the shredding of old regulations. While Weisberg is not as obviously wrong as Obama, his claims are unsubstantiated, poorly argued, and false.
It hasn't obviously but it's becoming harder to tell... anyway this article is spot on.
Getting Burn:Cycle to Run
Alright, so I got B:C running after a bit of annoyance… so I thought I’d post my method here for posterity.
I am running Vista 64.
You will need:
- MS Virtual PC 2007 (avail for free from MS)
- Win98 SE (readily avail as a torrent)
- Burn:Cycle
When launching Virtual PC, make sure to right-click > run as admin otherwise you may get ‘this is not a valid win32 app’ errors when trying to run the game in the VM.
As for the VM settings, VPC has settings for win98 which I left default except for disk size which I set to 512MB (could be set smaller I suppose) since this was only for B:C and win98 is only a couple hundred megs big.
Enjoy!
(;||<