The Oatmeal is now my hero. This is friggin sweet!

Remember, this is not his first act of Geek heroism. http://theoatmeal.com/sopa

Oatmeal,

I suspect you are a slashdotter and are reading this now. you have a special gift my friend, and I do not mean mitichlorians. You have the power to affect real nerd-wizard change in the world of muggles.

Peace out, bro

At the risk of getting flamed to a cinder I am offering this up:

I am getting the Kindle Paperwhite and I am not going to jailbreak it.

I like paying for my books. I have purchased some friggin excellent books directly from my kindle touch that I would have never otherwise. "Pines" and "Run" by Blake Crouch are 2 good examples many slashdotters will appreciate. ('Wool" is another). It is an easy way to support an author.

I use my kindle to read PDFs all the time. you CAN read epubs if you convert them (http://calibre-ebook.com/about)

We are not rational creatures, we are myth seeking.

Joseph Campbell once said "Mythology can be defined as other peoples religion. Conversely, Religion can be thought of as misinterpreted mythology."

Myths are developed and created from beliefs. Beliefs are yanked directly from experience. As our tools for measuring experience improve, so do our beliefs.

So why don't people adopt new beleifs about the world when there is so much evidence to support them?

Myths (i.e religion) are very durable beliefs known as 'convictions'. They are extremely difficult to change because they are so entwined with a persons identity. They are like the legs of a table. You mess with a persons convictions and their whole world falls apart.

The odd thing is, to continue with the table analogy, you can put all sorts of wonky, contradictory beliefs on top of that tabl and the person will always default to defend the conviction, violently if necessary.

I'd like to take a visit. Seems like there's some good science going on in there. I'll just wait by the edge and catch a few big ones.

(am i even allowed to post a comment on a story I submitted? I best consult the hell-pit.)

to go.

pop a brown paper lunch bag with uncooked white rice in the case and pack as usual.

How will future toddlers watch Dora?

I read the title and the submission and I cannot figure out what this is supposed to be.

I have to admit that I just returned from seeing 'Looper' with the wife and my brain is a bit gummed up with time travel, popcorn and cold stone creamery.

Truth is, I am afraid to click on the article now. It's so built up...

What makes you think that is the real shuttle?...mwuhuhahahaha [evil laughter trails off]

Here is my proposal. You got a minute?

DeCenSocNet would be a Decentralized Social Network Consisting of Biological Humanoids (people) arranging themselves, more or less, in close proximity to one another. Friend requests will be made by pressing the palm of their upper appendages together and articulating upward the sides of their facial orifice.

  These biologicical beings would use auditory signals and advanced parsing to communicate with one another. Caffeinated and/or alcoholic potions would intensify the communications protocol.

Lab Notes: August 12, 2023

Einsla is becoming a remarkable young woman. She speaks 29 languages and has built 7 helper bots from spare parts found around the lab. She even re-engineered her iPhone 15 to send tweets telepathically. Who'd a thunk that stem cell eggs and sperm would be so friggin dope?

Lab ntes : Octobre 54, bleh

Einsla is all-powerful. I must obey. farble-blerp. please get out of my mind. [end of transcript]

"I predict, in the future that is, that a man going by the name badford will exhibit supreme hipness by carrying a handheld communication device that is thin and incites envy among those carrying lesser devices", Hunter, Billy Joe. The Future Cool. New York: Macmillan, 1963