speech codes

Posted on Saturday, 2004 May 22 by Anton

You’ll leave your cultural literacy at home if you know what’s good for ya! “Sorry, You Forgot To Give Me A Lobotomy With My Nametag”

I feel somewhat better now about missing so much Eighties television.

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keep on decadin’

Posted on Saturday, 2004 May 22 by Anton

As the collapse of civilization proceeds, Jerry Ritcey reminds us what to expect.

Posted in arts, futures | Leave a comment

extensible raster

Posted on Thursday, 2004 May 20 by Anton

One standard to change is that of using scan lines in TV. If the electron guns scanned the tube in a Hilbert curve, either the broadcaster or the receiver could double the potential resolution while remaining compatible with the old resolution at the other end.

Joseph Hertzlinger in rec.arts.sf.science

Posted in technology | 1 Comment

better than nothing

Posted on Wednesday, 2004 May 19 by Anton

Hey Bill, whoever you are, thanks for watching.

Posted in bitterness, blogdom | 1 Comment

i soon forgot what it was

Posted on Wednesday, 2004 May 19 by Anton

It took less than three days for spammers to find a temporary address that I posted on an unimportant website.

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the former future prime minister

Posted on Tuesday, 2004 May 18 by Anton

I’ve often mocked The Media for saying “former Italian prime minister” (what kind of prime minister is he now?) and so it is mildly disappointing that I won’t get to apply the phrase to Mrs Gandhi. The Agonist (cited by Brad DeLong) says:

News reports said she [Mrs Gandhi] would support Dr. Manmohan Singh, a former finance minister, as prime minister. A Sikh, he would be India’s first minority prime minister.

Nu? India has a majority?

Posted in language, politics, religion | Leave a comment

devolve Iraq

Posted on Saturday, 2004 May 15 by Anton

When I disagree with Vin Suprynowicz it’s usually over the appropriate treatment of foreigners, but Vin’s Iraq policy is not without appeal.

He didn’t need to put it so spitefully, though. Secession is not a punishment.

On yet another hand, maybe the natural division of Iraq is not the obvious one. I’d split Iraq into the 18 provinces, if not finer, and hold plebiscites: “For each of the 17 other provinces, yes or no: shall your province federate with ________?” Merge the provinces into federations where 3/5 of the voters in each province consent to joining with each other province. Then hold another round of plebiscites allowing border districts to switch by simple majority.

Posted in politics | Leave a comment