August 2009
22 posts
1 tag
1 tag
Why did Scotland really release Libyan Lockerbie... →
Lawyers, politicians, diplomats and relatives of Lockerbie victims now believe that the former Libyan intelligence officer is innocent. Robert Black QC, an emeritus professor of Scottish law at Edinburgh University, was one of the architects of the original trial in Holland. He has closely followed developments since the disaster happened and in 2000 devised the non-jury trial system for the...
2 tags
2 tags
Merging My Online Presence
I’ve been “blogging” “work-related” stuff by sharing notes and items from Google Reader here, where I discuss mostly international trade, institutions and political science issues. I’ve been posting whatever else I wanted to think about here on my Tumblelog. I’m ending that separation, mostly because Reader Sharing is based on a strange, non-blog-like format that I don’t understand (e.g. there are...
3 tags
Excessive Playgrounder →
Dan Benjamin started this new website. It is a good concept and I like the style, but the content is disappointing. I’m not sure who the target audience is—it might be roughly the same as that of Cookie magazine.
Cases in point: Hand-crank locomotive for $4,100. Anonymous Nakashima-inspired chair for $550. I love my son and would like him to have fun and have a good place to sit, but I’m never...
6 tags
WatchClay Shirky on collaborative arrangements replacing traditional institutions—e.g. firms, journalists, etc.—given the right information infrastructure. What he argues is happening at the domestic level seems to be how international institutions (e.g. the GATT/WTO) have long functioned—by decentralizing implementation and enforcement. In that sense, international institutions have always been closer...
4 tags
Making the Clackity Noise →
Okay, so, that’s what was in my keyboard just now. I didn’t know it was in there when I sat down to compliment Buffering on his 105 words that made me think about how I love little stories. This is why writing is fucked up and awesome and makes a 42-year-old man cry about cigarettes and Pete Rose and an ugly green car on a perfectly temperate Sunday afternoon.
Your keyboard will have different...
2 tags
WatchI almost decided to skip this talk during the first couple of minutes. The stories and photographs Harris brings back from around the world—especially from Bhutan—are amazing, as are his means of presenting them.
1 tag
“Contractors are searching the U.S. in vain for filters as well as bolts and...”
– [The Atlantic Business Channel via Trade Diversion]
2 tags
From Right to Left in Samoa →
As reported in today’s Wall Street Journal, the Samoan prime minister has ordered a switch from driving on the right (a la the U.S. and most of the rest of the world) to driving on the left (a la Britain and its former colonies). The idea is that because Australia and New Zealand do it in the British style, the switch will make it easier and cheaper for Samoans to purchase used cars.
The choice of...
2 tags
2 tags
1 tag
Filet of Sole with Mango-Onion-Avocado Relish
I haven’t documented cooking endeavors for a while. This was our dinner entrée from last night:
Dredge filets of sole with white flour, dip in egg wash, and dredge with whole wheat flour.
Pan fry them lightly, until both sides are golden brown.
Prepare the relish. The main recipe is from Bittman’s How to Cook Everything:
Dice two mangos into little pieces.
Dice 1/2 cup red onions into little...
2 tags
2 tags
iPhone Sudoku Grab: How does it all work? →
This is an interesting discussion by the author of a cool iPhone software, which lets users take pictures of sudoku puzzles (e.g. in newspapers) and solve them on their iPhones. It’s amazing what smart people can do with technology. [via DF]
2 tags
Unique Names
I have constant episodes with people mistaking my first name to be my last name, and vice versa. The following conversation was a more interesting episode.
Caller: Is this the Moonhawk residence?
Me: That’s my first name, but yes.
Caller: This is September calling from Precision Plumbing.
2 tags
WatchElizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, on the capricious nature of creativity [via TED.com]
1 tag
NYTimes.com | Living in Tents, and by the Rules,... →
The chief emerges from his tent to face the leaden morning light. It had been a rare, rough night in his homeless Brigadoon: a boozy brawl, the wielding of a knife taped to a stick. But the community handled it, he says with pride, his day’s first cigar already aglow.
This is an amazing story about emergence of order.
3 tags
2 tags
Recent Rise In International Disputes Traced Back... →
I’m pretty sure this is an under-analyzed aspect of international relations. There is definitely at least an article to be written on this phenomenon.