-
Home / random
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Noam Chomsky said Ayn Rand was "... one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history." Yet I find Atlas Shrugged an amazing book (and so do many others, like the man who recently drove aro...
Last week Larry Page, the CEO of one of the largest corporations in the world, and possibly one of the most powerful people on the planet, released an interview with the Financial Times endorsing m...
Artificial intelligence in Japan is getting closer to entering college. AI software scored higher on the English section of Japan’s standardized college entrance test than the average Japanes...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
By now, I'm assuming that most all of you have heard of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which is destroying marine life. (It started as a result of an oil rig explosion on April 20, 20...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Today I learned that, unlike people or other corporations, Federal reserve bank stockholders don't have to pay federal, state,or local taxes on their annual, fixed dividends of 6% on capital stock (w...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Nuclear energy was discovered in the context of war (specifically World War II). In the 1950s, the US Air Force tried to come up with an idea of putting a nuclear reactor on an airplane to keep it ru...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Let's say you're a woman and you're looking for a roommate to share the rent. Should it be illegal to ask for female candidates only? Of course not. That would be absurd. But did you know that the sa...
As an apprentice, it can be hard for us to challenge ourselves on our own in the proper way, and to get a clear sense of our own weaknesses. The times that we live in make this even harder. Develo...
What do most people do on a date?
One of America’s favorite liberal phrases has been sent through the political spin machine and polished into a Frankenstein of sorts, thus rendering it inaccurate and far from its original inte...
As a starting point, I assume readers do not engage in the initiation of force, including theft. You may refrain from doing so because of a moral code or from a respect for rights. But, at least for m...
A common misconception about weight loss is “eat less, lose faster”. This belief might lead you to make drastic (and potentially dangerous) changes in your diet…changes that can...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
It's now official: subversives who think government is corrupt and should be controlled by the people face 10 years in prison and a $25,000 dollar fine if they fail to register with authorities in So...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
It is claimed that women fake orgasms because of insecurities. But as women have a tremendous capacity for pleasure, perhaps men just aren't stimulating the right places. As scary as it might sound t...
Transaction costs are currently set as follows, but may change. (Yes, of course, if they change, we’ll update them here.) Also, sponsor accounts have the capability to change the prices of post a...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How many of you learned about the Hitler Youth (aka HJ), the paramilitary group of the Nazis? Is the government building one for Obama? In Hitler's time, the stormtroopers were referred to as "brown...
If Microsoft's documentation is correct, installing Patch Tuesday's KB 3139929 security update for Internet Explorer also installs a new Windows 10 ad-generating routine called KB 3146449.
Man...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
A federal appeals court says three Seattle police officers were justified when they used a stun gun on a pregnant mother who refused to sign a traffic ticket. The dissenting judge called the ruling "...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Today, a man committed suicide by flying his plane into an IRS office. I think this is only the beginning of more to come. The IRS has been terrorizing people illegally for decades. The courts and mi...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Throughout history, machines, tools, devices, etc. have become smaller. But not until recently have we been able to see down to the lowest level - to that of the nano. With electron microscopes, nano...
Alcohol dilutes your blood (i.e., makes it less dense) because alcohol is lighter than water. Alcohol-soaked blood builds up more quickly in your ears than elsewhere in the body, and that throws off...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Which is better for a poor person - to be paid $3.00/hour for working or to be unemployed where the minimum wage law is $6.00/hour? Unions love minimum wage laws, and they spend millions lobbying for...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Irony: Politicians make thousands of laws to protect us from all of the irrational, destructive, and harmful decisions that we make as individuals. Then we go to the voting booths…
Should there...
editorial posted by
b_independent
in objectivism
Her name was Nicky Romashko. Though I'm having a hard time remembering our ages (probably about 10), it was sometime during grade school that I experienced my first love. If you'll allow me the pun,...
They say it is piracy. Downright stealing from other people, that’s what downloading is. You’re taking something for sale and not paying for it. Do you shoplift, or break into houses?...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Talk about a circlejerk... The federal government tells poorly performing schools that, if they fire their principals, they will get additional money. So what do these schools do? They fire the princ...
They’ve been popping up on campus all semester: intricately worked chalkboard messages with one signature, #dangerdust.
Dangerdust has captured the attention of students and taken social m...
editorial posted by
command_line
in FAQ
Social networking is great. Well, it's great for people who like to be social. Come to think of it, it's great even for people who don't like to be social.
Social networks, from...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Governments love to pander equality and anti-discrimination laws (well, granted - they were for discrimination before they were against it). Their latest villain? The Internet Service Providers (ISP)...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
I'm talking about the real anarchists here, not bloody bomb-throwers or anti-capitalist window breakers. I'm referring to people who have faced the scary fact that all coercive power corrupts and tha...
Generally speaking, we're clueless as to what happens in the rest of the world. For proof, try this experiment: mention in polite company that there are riots in the Ukraine where police are mu...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The stupidity in government never takes a break, especially in the public school system. FTA: "It seems to me that it may be time to give all school administrators a course in remedial thinking. Here...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Can we all agree that, no matter who it is, the US president does not have the legitimate power to bomb another nation without an act of Congress formally declaring war?
Five wars have been declar...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How do you make economics more fun so that people better understand basic concepts and, just as important, what the ramifications are from making poor economic choices?
FTA: "Who is better informe...
Lando Calrissian, Han Solo and even filthy Jawas hitting on Princess Leia in a parody of the 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman:
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Ron Paul has a sign in his office that says "Don't steal. The government hates competition." Did you know that applies to feeding the homeless as well? "Why" indeed. What do you think?
FTA: "The N...
editorial posted by
digdug
in mens rights
Albert Einstein theorized that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it only changes from one form to another. In physics, this became known as the Law of the Conservation of Energy. Many a ph...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Libertarians and others who don't like government (e.g., anarchists) are always talking about limiting and shutting down government programs. Yet they continue to use the benefits of these programs....
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
FTA: "Whether or not you are philosophically inclined toward libertarianism or anarchy, it's hard not to agree that voting for politicians has been an unmitigated disaster if you measure success by l...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
As this is an article about the theory of games, I thought that, as I intend to do this systematically, I should start with a brief post defining what a game actually is. You might think that I could...
editorial posted by
maker
in 2gringosincaribbean
Monday, October 18, 2010
I well remember while hoping that you don't that in our last post I said I was going to start making smaller posts more frequently. And it was my intention. But as some wi...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
If you're a person who prefers the grayness of relativity to the "black or white" positions of an absolutist, ultimatums likely make you uncomfortable. But such is the nature of choices - selecting a...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
On this July 4, when so many Americans are celebrating the so-called "Independence Day" by having picnics and shooting fireworks, there are others who think it's time to do it again. What do you thin...
Sex therapists think that your fantasies of marathon sex romps aren't realistic. They think that "desirable" sex should last from 7 - 13 minutes. As men take about five minutes to org...
Never did I expect to write a screed with that as the title. But principles must be defended even when the actors are evil.
First things first: however reluctantly, I admit to using Google for som...
Being young, I don't have as much experience with love as others, yet the ideas around it keep me up at night. Often, I've thought it might be productive to write some of them down.
Roma...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
In the future, will you look back, shake your head, and regret that you didn't follow your passions? Feel that you went against who you really wanted to be? Don't wait until another New Year's Eve -...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Shakespeare was right… "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." When one AT&T customer wrote to the CEO twice in two weeks recently, the company's "executive response team" contacte...
editorial posted by
Clarisse88
in AdviceAnimals
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
It's the typical Catch-22. You can't get hired for a job because you have limited experience, and you can't get experience until you get a job. It appears there are many young people who are having ...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
OK everyone... try to look surprised. FTA: "After 40 years, the United States' war on drugs has cost $1 trillion and hundreds of thousands of lives, and for what? Drug use is rampant and violence eve...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The US government has recently passed a healthcare law that REQUIRES Americans to purchase health insurance. The US government also nationalized and now owns the car company General Motors. If the go...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Today I learned which countries make up the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), the difference between the United Kingdom (four countries) and Great Britain (England, Sco...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Some people have problems understanding new ideas with which they are unfamiliar and so unintentionally misrepresent or summarize those ideas. Perhaps these are innocent errors. However, there are ot...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Our mother... the dawn of man
Our mother
Climb my eye upon her many breasts.
Succulent are her up most tops.
White mothers milk,
Which gives us life,
Pouring upon her belly...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Putting aside the debates as to whether or not social psychology is less rigorous because it is a soft science, or whether or not it is really science at all, how closely do our political choices mir...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
First, let me make this perfectly clear: I am an anarchist (or, more specifically, an anarcho-capitalist). I do not support any kind of government, including a president. The last election I voted in...
Advertising is a kinda shitty model. It’s very exciting that we’re moving beyond it.
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
I'm a month late on this, for the spotlight of public attention, but I have an Ayn Rand story, too. 11 years ago I blind-pitched Wired magazine an ill-defined article on Rand. In response, they asked...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Today I learned one of the creators of Superman drew S&M and bondage comics that were banned by the Supreme Court, the creator of Star Trek created a show about a gym teacher having sex with his...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Socrates, the philosopher who claimed the contradiction "I know that I know nothing," provided us with a method to help us question what we think we know and to demonstrate otherwise: the Socratic me...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
As the adage goes: How do you know a politician is lying? His lips are moving. On Obama's White House website, he states: "My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of opennes...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
In the movie The Rock, Sean Connery says to Nicholas Cage "Your best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and fuck the prom queen." There are those who think that perfection can be...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace says, "Every man dies, not every man really lives." For thousands of years, people have thought about the values to live for. Aristotle suggest we should live...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Today I learned that you should not use olive oil to cook at high heats (i.e., potentially anything over 200 - 250º F / 93 - 121º C, although that is debated), especially extra virgin olive oils. T...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How do we know the right thing to do in our lives? In other words, what moral principles are at the foundation of our actions? Utilitarianism is the philosophy that the moral worth of an action is de...
This post is the first in a multi-part series on executing an optimal music crowdfunding campaign, gathered from my hands-on experience at Think Steady Inc. I’ll share a detailed roadmap of best...
editorial posted by
peace_on_earth
in FAQ
Admittedly, it's a bit confusing. Our development environment consists of an Apple II (a great box, BTW), a dusty IBM PC XT that's running MS-DOS (our pre-alpha test environment), and a box...
The coverage of HSBC in Britain's Daily Telegraph is a fraud on its readers. If major newspapers allow corporations to influence their content for fear of losing advertising revenue, democracy itself...
I love quotes. The ones to which I most relate become a part of me. They inspire me. They guide me. They strengthen my resolve. They reinforce my values. They comfort me.
These are mine (without a...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
First, they teleported photons, then atoms and ions. Now one physicist has worked out how to do it with energy, a technique that has profound implications for the future of physics.
Physicist Disc...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
A week ago, we discussed a court ignoring the proven innocence of a convicted man because he missed a filing deadline. Here we have a case where a victim attempts to protect himself and his property....
Think about all the animals you see in your life. What are they? They could be cats, dogs, pigeons, fish, or horses. Now, imagine what animals they have on a small island chain of Ecuador, which are...
The power of psychedelics, however, is that they often reveal, in the span of a few hours, depths of awe and understanding that can otherwise elude us for a lifetime...
I believe that psychedeli...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Should lawyers, doctors, and politicians have the right to physically force a patient to receive medical treatment? Is it morally proper for someone else to force a decision upon you that they think...
Can’t we all just get along?
So you have a small running group in San Francisco and want a community where you can motivate each other by posting personal running times, routes, and progress. Yo...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
FTA: "...14 privacy groups filed a unfair-trade complaint with the FTC against Facebook on Wednesday... Facebook thinks that your notions of privacy - meaning your ability to control information abou...
Spam is a problem on the Web. A very, very big problem. Many companies make a ton of money selling spam filter solutions just for email alone. Community moderators are there to manually keep the comm...
I had to pause this video a few times to allow myself to calm down.
This isn't new. I started researching the genesis of "new math" and "everyday math" back in 2007 when I...
Per two statutes, 14 U.S.C. § 89(a)2 and 19 U.S.C. §1581(a), the US Coast Guard has virtually unlimited authority to stop, board, and search vessels without any suspicion of wrongdoing. No...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Does the US constitution allow for gay marriage? Is gay marriage a constitutional right? There are answers from both a constitutional law perspective as well as a morality perspective. What do you th...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The history of humanity is based on progress. Progress has been the result of individuals coming together to solve problems and to enhance our lives. But history also provides numerous examples of gr...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Let this sink in for a moment: the United States has the highest prisoner population rate in the world. That's right, even more than China. (And, no - that doesn't include all of the hidden prisons i...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Morality is about determining which choices and actions are good or bad, which always leads to the question - what is the good? There are some who consider the good as those choices and actions which...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Is it ironic that this is published in a UK newspaper? Not so long ago, police used to be called "peace officers." Keeping the peace and initiating violence are contradictions. Wasn't police abuse in...
Fourteen space travel posters of colorful, exotic space settings are now available free for downloading and printing. According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's website:
Imagination is our windo...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The government lied about the BP oil spill? (Tries to act surprised.) Is this kind of like when Bush claimed "mission accomplished" in Iraq (or Obama's recent second fake end to the Iraq war)? You've...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The Road Not Taken (by Robert Frost)
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To w...
They call it political science. They study things such as the origins of the state, history, political ideologies, law, war, taxes, regulation, international relations, and free trade. They claim t...
Registered kids receive 2 free games of bowling every day all summer long (valued at over $500 per child)
‘Bout that time again, eh chaps? That’s right-o, it’s April Fool’s Day Again. But you’ve got stuff to do. You don’t have time for any funny business. So we’re here to collect all the...
Al-Qeq, works for Saudi Arabia’s Almajd TV network and was arrested at his home in Ramallah on November 21st. In its statement, issued more than 60 days after he entered into his hunger strike,...
You’ve had the Worst. Day. Ever. It’s hard enough just getting through it, but then everyone seems to notice. They keep asking, “Are you okay?” If you’re not “fine” you don’t have to...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Today I learned why light gasses like helium make your voice squeaky and heavy gasses like sulfur hexafluoride or xenon make your voice sound like Barry White.
In summary, the timbre of your voice...
How Dell Glover, an employee at a CD-manufacturing plant, became the Patient Zero of Internet piracy.
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Putting aside for a moment the idea of quantum entanglement, as of now, we know that you cannot physically be both in Spain and America at the same time. This is an absolute. We know that you cannot...
Inspired by this post, these colorful, fun, and informative periodic tables are great for elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as adults.
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Sometimes it seems that the worse things get, the more we tolerate. It's not that we become impartial to a particular wrong, but it does seem that we often "sit on the fence" when we see wrongdoing....
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Government - they are experts at manipulating people. They even have a scary-sounding name for it: "psy-ops." What happens when they turn against their own? The psychological thriller The Manchurian...