Marginalia and Other Crimes. Marginalia and Other Crimes: I‰¥úve always had an intense hatred for people that deface books, and if they're my books, the intensity is doubled. But imagine the atrocities the average librarian faces every day‰¥Ï

Witness this display of damaged and defiled books from the Cambridge University library, with attached sarcastic commentary. The horror! Not for the squeamish.

[MetaFilter]

valerie is an android, who knew?…. most people on first inspection is probably the best answer.

The good news is that you won't have to suffer my uncaring nature regarding spelling and grammar much longer, nosirreebob… why, because now grammarian works in the radio userland window and spell/grammar checks the boxes. Now if I just remember to use it.

What's wrong with binary logic?.

I've been accused of using binary logic and am still having a very difficult time understanding the problem with it. Anne Galloway's blog has very high quality readership so I am fascinated by the discussion, but I still need some help understanding. Anne, I hate to highjack the comments section on your blog entry, but I have a feeling I'm still missing a very important point.

I am turning off comments on the this item on my blog. If you have thoughts, please post them in context on Anne's blog.

[Joi Ito's Web]

now aristotle's golden mean is exemplary of this, because it is frequently misinterpretted. for aristotle: the virtuous/excellent person will find the mean, but you cannot use the mean to guide you to be a virtuous person. you can habituate yourself to be a better or more excellent person, a person who fullfills their function as a human being, but you still have to have certain capacities to start even start that pursuit. Books 2-5 of the Nicomachean Ethics(NE) more or less say that. However, aristotle does not provide endpoints or the vices for all the virtues he lists in book 5 of the NE, and certainly one of the virtues he mentions only has one end, so it is clear that the golden mean probably isn't his test. What is his test? well, you have to go back to book one, where he says what ethics studies, which is in most translations 'political science' or governing reason which is like practical reason and in the last few books of NE its excellence is said to lead to the good life. it is one of the intellectual virtues, practical reason….

Turn OFF The TV.

Turn OFF The TV

I'm starting a new campaign. It's about how totally UNCOOL TV is. It's more uncool than smoking. It's more uncool than drinking. It's dangerously uncool to watch TV. Turn it off.

Your brain is melting, thanks to TV. Your butt is broadening, thanks to TV. Your kids are learning how to shoot people with guns for fun, thanks to TV. It's showing you that your neighbors have more money, more soda, more fun, more sex, more retirement savings and nicer clothes than you. It's teaching you how to be miserable. It's teaching you how to be passive. Turn it off.

You want news — read a newspaper or go online.

You want weather — try the radio or you might even go outside.

You want someone to keep you company, invite someone over.

You want sex, try it with a real partner, not late night TV.

[Halley's Comment]

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i think this is right on. i through out my tv on new years, it's gone. however, i'm not yet more productive, though i have to change that today, i really do, because if i don't get the things done that i need to get done, other things won't work out the way that i want them to. tv takes time, and it gives you in its place exactly what halley says, which i term cultural placebos which your mind then uses in part to create your worldview. the problem is that the tv isn't real…

What you do in Vegas stays in your file. The FBI has been given increased surveillance powers without court oversight under the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, which was signed into law on the day Saddam was captured. The law was recently used to have hotels and airlines in Las Vegas turn over guest and passenger names and information for the holiday period. [MetaFilter]

ÊÊÊ But with Virginia's public colleges now underfunded by nearly $400 million annually, officials insist the additional flexibility could allow them to chip away at their respective budget gaps before the schools suffer permanent blows to quality and reputation. That margin of financial independence would, in turn, leave more state money for Virginia's other underfunded colleges, officials said.

really, these universities have already suffered permanent blows to quality and reputation. it is somewhat too late for that. but now they might be able to regain and rebuild some reputation. however, i'm not sure it is possible given other peices of the puzzle.