Exploding Aardvark

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THIS IS EVERYWHERE NOW

… but I want it to be here, where I can find it—because it is about BEES that attack by COOKING.
Honeybees that defend their colonies by killing wasps with body heat come within 5�C of cooking themselves in the process, according to a study in China.
At least two species of honeybees there, the native Apis […]

BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE

Computer scientists have created a hat that can read your thoughts. It allows you to stroll down a virtual street. All you have to do is think about walking.
Called a brain-computer interface, the device detects activity in certain brain areas linked to movement, and uses the signals to mimic that movement in a virtual world. […]

THIS MAKES MY BRAIN HURT RIGHT NOW

Mmm … braaaainnn …
Consider a zombie world that is an exact physical duplicate of our world, so that in it all philosophers have zombie twins. In particular there are zombie twins of those who appeal to the conceivability argument. Katalin Balog (1999) argues that the utterances of these zombie-twin philosophers would be meaningful, although their […]

NEXT UP: MCDOCTOR’S DRIVE-THRU

A video screen hanging on the wall of one of Indianapolis’ newest retail chains promises fast service at an affordable price.
But this isn’t burgers and fries.
It’s health care, fast-food style.
A flu shot goes for $30. Treating athlete’s foot or an ear infection will run you $49 apiece. Treatments will take 15 minutes, with no appointment […]

IT’S FRIDAY, AND I FEEL THAT EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE A STUPID QUIZ

You Are A: Bear Cub!

Bears are strong and independent creatures who roam in the forest in search of food. Bears are usually gentle, but anger one and be prepared for their full fury! You’re tough, you won’t back down from a fight, you have a bit of a temper — classic attributes of a […]

THE TERRORISTS WANT TO TAKE AWAY OUR HAM

The county’s Homeland Security Division, within the DeKalb Police Department, was formed after the County Commission decided in October 2001 to hire a homeland security director. The move was prompted by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Gerry Weber, legal director at the ACLU of Georgia and a lead attorney in […]

BABY SLOTHS IN A BOX

Click the photo to go to the first one, and keep hitting “Next” for more.

MOON FESTIVAL

This weekend is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I have no mooncakes, boo hoo. I will content myself with looking at pictures of them.
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Travel in Taiwan)
Enjoying the Wind and Moon Together (Government Information Office, Republic of China {Taiwan})
Chinese Festivals in Hong Kong: 2005 (Big White Guy)
Chang-O (Godchecker)
Flickr tags:

mooncakes
midautumnfestival
moonfestival

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS

Examples of cross-cultural moral diversity such as this one may not seem surprising in the 21st century. In a world of religious wars, genocide, and terrorism, no one is naive enough to think that all moral beliefs are universal. But beneath such diversity, can we discern a common core—a distinct, universal, maybe even innate “moral […]

WE’RE NUMBER ONE! IN SPENDING, ANYWAY …

WE’RE NUMBER ONE! IN SPENDING, ANYWAY …
Americans spend $5,267 per capita on health care every year, almost two and half times the industrialized world’s median of $2,193; the extra spending comes to hundreds of billions of dollars a year. What does that extra spending buy us? Americans have fewer doctors per capita than most Western […]