July 3, 2008 by Mark P. Line
Biofuels are prime cause of food crisis, says leaked report
- Read my lips: To say that biofuels cause food prices to increase is either stupid, misleading or both. First-generation biofuels cause food prices to increase, because first-generation biofuels are made from food plants. Duh. Some companies thought it was opportune to make a quick buck selling first-generation biofuels without regard for impacts on the global food market, and there you have it.
- You’re parroting back at me that hogwash about second-generation biofuels not being marketable yet? Make biodiesel from non-food crops. You can do this in mass quantities or in your backyard. Voila! Second-generation biofuel.
Posted in Man & Environment, Society & Politics | Leave a Comment »
May 29, 2008 by Mark P. Line
Robot Surgeon Removes Brain Tumor
- Dudes. Don’t call it a robot if it’s not a robot. It’s a remote-controlled manipulator. A good one, sounds like. But it’s not a robot.
Posted in Biology & Medicine, Ontology & Science | Leave a Comment »
April 23, 2008 by Mark P. Line
Feds to require visitors fingerprints when they leave US
- So, it’s not entirely clear from the article whether or not they want to collect biometrics on US citizens travelling internationally as well as on foreign visitors who are leaving the country.
- In any event, this keeps us right on track towards eventually monitoring all the movements of US citizens, then restricting that movement. Where’s Stalin when you need him?
- Fortunately, there will be different people in charge of Homeland Security by the time they want to see this implemented, so maybe there’s hope.
- All in all, then, I guess it’s a good thing that this announcement was leaked. It makes it that much easier to find a Presidential candidate to vote for.
Posted in Society & Politics | Leave a Comment »
April 15, 2008 by Mark P. Line
Researchers Mimic Bacteria To Produce Magnetic Nanoparticles
- Well, this is good. We’re going to need smart little nano-critters to destroy all the other smart little nano-critters and synthetic organisms that are released accidentally.
- Then we will have come full circle. Confident that we can do it all, we can then get back to baking bread, fishing in the river and all the other activities that only hunter-gatherers have the leisure time to pursue.
Posted in Man & Environment, Systems Biology | Leave a Comment »
March 29, 2008 by Mark P. Line
www.badhemingway.com
- It was a website. It was a good website. It was the kind of website you would surf past on a cold, rainy night sitting in your hotel room in Bogota.
Posted in Language & Cognition | Leave a Comment »