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razib | August 2, 2007So I go in and get the exact same coffee at a particular coffee shop usually. Today I wanted a juice. So I ask for the juice, and the barista gets me some coffee (the usually mild brew) and then charges me for the juice. After a few moments, he realizes that he hasn't gotten me the juice, he got me the coffee. The coffee machine is to his right, the juice to his left. He heard me ask for the juice, and it was internalized so he knew what to press to charge me after he made the coffee. Now, I was going to ask why he was making me coffee, but there were other people waiting for stuff and…
razib | July 31, 2007As Kevin Beck points out Google News dropped ScienceBlogs.com, but kept the Discovery Institute's blog. If you have issues this with particular pair of decisions, tell Google.
razib | July 30, 2007Zack talks about his personal Dell Hell. I took had a Inspiron 5100, and it exhibited all the issues he has noted.
razib | July 25, 2007If you find the material on this blog of interest, I highly recommend that you subscribe to Jason Malloy's de facto clipping service: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/gnxpforum/. A far number of the articles I blog about I find via that entry on my RSS....
razib | July 11, 2007Ancient Americans Liked It Hot: Mexican Cuisine Traced To 1,500 Years Ago:
Plant remains from two caves in southern Mexico analyzed by a Smithsonian ethnobotanist/archaeologist and a colleague indicate that as early as 1,500 years ago, Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the region enjoyed a spicy fare similar to Mexican cuisine today. The two caves yielded 10 different cultivars (cultivated varieties) of chili peppers.
"This analysis demonstrates that chilies in Mexican food have been numerous and complex for a long period of time," said lead author Linda Perry, of the Smithsonian's National Museum…
razib | July 5, 2007Hope all my fellow Americans out there had a good Independence Day. I was away on a trip, and I thought I'd share a few photos.
razib | July 2, 2007Chad has a post up discussing the crappiness of physics in science fiction. Rob has more. This was all prompted by a post titled R-E-S-P-E-C-T; which makes the case that biology gets no respect in science fiction (e.g., notice the abundance of dangerous and large predators stalking deserts with no sign of plant life or herbivores). Chad & Rob focused on science fiction films as opposed to print. I'm not a big fan of science fiction films or television in general, but, back in the day I was a voracious consumer of novels and short stories within the genre.
First, I have to say that in…
razib | July 2, 2007If you're a regular reader of ScienceBlogsTM I hope you'll take this survey. The theory is that the results of the reader survey will help us improve your experience as an end user.
razib | June 30, 2007Saw Ratatouille today. Never once checked the time. Very good film. So far Yahoo Movie critics & users give it an A-, and it seems like it'll win the box office. Much recommended (Pixar animation is the bomb obviously, but the story is really good and could only be told in a non-live action context for obvious reasons). This is a movie whose target audience are children and foodies, so definitely a strange and surprising beast. A flavor you won't forget.
razib | June 29, 2007Update: iPhone, iPhone, iPhone? Jobs is God? iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone!!! iPhone. iPhone. iPhone? iPhone-iPhone. iPhone iPhone. Apple Store, wet my pants. iPhone iPhone iPhone. iPhone!!!! iPhone iPhone. iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone iPhone. Jobs does not exist! iPhone? Jobs is oppressive!!! iPhone. Ah...land line.
razib | June 24, 2007I've always been ill at ease with the term "Judeo-Christian." As someone from a Muslim cultural background I was minimally familiar with the tenets and principles of the Islamic religion. As someone who was socialized with both Jews and Christians I was reasonably familiar with the outlines of both faiths. When my teachers wouldrefer to the "Judeo-Christian" tradition I simply felt that something was off. Talking to Jews about their religion it seemed, to me, to resemble Islam more than what the Christian children described. Additionally, on occasion my family would purchase kosher food…