Paranormal
Joshua stepped lightly through the rough undergrowth in the forest, and he heard the low pitched call of a bird. He immediately recognized it as a Warbler. He was only nine years old, but he knew these things because he liked to study everything he could possibly study, and recognizing bird calls was one of his recent pursuits. Of course, he wasn't like other boys his age. He was actually smart and intelligent, and he wasn't annoying at all. He didn't cry when things weren't done his way and he would get out of your way if he saw you were busy. He was different. »
One heavy morning, when the outside world was ironbound with frost, I stood at a long French window in the playroom waiting to go down to breakfast. The sun was just risen beyond the ground, and stood above the lawns, his great red disk etched with naked twigs of the bushes. Under these bushes a gardener was chopping down a dead tree. I watched him. The axe flashed red, and fell. It rose again. The movement, steady and sure, fascinated me. Suddenly I realized that the sound of the blows did not synchronize with what I saw. The thud came when the axe was on the upstroke, ready for the next blow. »
"Come on! Hurry up, come over!" Susan was almost hysterical. "But it's 7 AM! It's too early. You come over," I managed to croak. I did not take particular delight in the prospect of having to get up at 7 AM on a Saturday. It was almost blasphemy. Hadn't some god somewhere made it illegal to do anything on Saturday? »
A moment away from madness. The temporal separation between sanity and insanity, life and death, bravery and stupidity. That's what we are. What is stopping you from reaching out and punching the oversized belly of the grease-laden lard-bag standing in front of you? Why not take a running leap into the path of an oncoming bus, they'll never expect it, nobody will! »
So... It's your birthday. And you're one year closer to your inevitable demise. »
We drove down the endless expanse of the desert, silent and tired from the initial excitement that we shared when we had just gotten into the car. It was, after all, going to be a nice long drive across the desert, far more exotic in our imaginings than what we were looking at outside the window. »
As you must be blissfully aware by now, we now live in the Age of Information. It is something as obvious as a pimple you get on your nose hours before a date. What is the future of t he Internet going to look like? As any other discussion regarding the future, it is one that can only be reduced to mere speculation based upon inference and objective belief. »
Mathematical analysis and computer modeling are revealing to us that the shapes and processes we encounter in nature--the way that plants grow, the way that mountains erode or rivers flow, the way that snowflakes or islands achieve their shapes, the way that light plays on a surface, the way the milk folds and spins into your coffee as you stir it, the way that laughter sweeps through a crowd of people--all these things in their seemingly magical complexity can be described by the interaction of mathematical processes that are, if anything, even more magical in their simplicity. »
a.k.a. Zen and the Art of Debunkery. How to baffle your opponents and debunk any assertions they make. »
Randomness, as we know it, is not true randomness, for at a certain level, these processes are following certain laws. So, what is truly random? Is there anything at all that is completely random in its existence or occurrence? »
All the other animals are allowed to die, but there are collective tears of joy when a baby panda is born, an animal whose ecological purpose is minimal, at best, when compared to the others that are kicking the evolutionary bucket, now full of filth. »
A hot, muggy morning embraces the city in the early hours. It's a bad, sticky, unbearable heat. The dogs awake, and are looking for a fire hydrant to mark their territories. Up above the concrete jungle known as the city, the birds and the bees fly across in search of something which they have forgotten already. Except for a few bees. A few particular bees. A few particular bees who decided that they'd venture forth into uncharted territory, on this particular day. »
Douglas Adams' speech at Digital Biota 2, Cambridge, 1988, talking about artificial life and god. »
Humans, as a species, seem to be a rather destination oriented one. Everyone's going somewhere. What's the rush?! »
A birthday party in a quaint little suburban home. Just like any birthday party elsewhere in the world. Several kids wearing inane decorative cones on top of their heads, running around the house and bumping into other objects in a manner very similar to crazed, super-heated caffeine molecules. »
You are probably aware of the Mars Rovers which recently went up there to the Red Planet, in order to explore and study the terrain, eventually proving that, beyond a reasonable doubt, men are not from Mars. (Women aren't from Venus anyways, since there are no shopping malls there). »
A paradox is a statement that may be true, but somehow contradicts itself. It is one of the best outcomes of our usage of language, and brings to light situations that usually don't have a proper answer. Although, some paradoxes are known to have come about as a result of actual observations. This article looks at a long list of paradoxes, some of which you may not know yet. »
You stand at the edge of the small cliff, thirty feet above water. You look down, and it seems to be a hundred feet. Standing on the edge of danger. But you can't do it, not just yet. »
Much too often have we seen people declaring themselves to be true patriotic citizens of a country, without even knowing what they are actually involved in. Without even knowing the definition of patriotism, without bothering to learn its definition, or wanting to follow it. The main thing that is important to them, instead, is following a fad. »
How do you know you really exist? I mean, really exist? What makes you so sure that you are a real entity in this environment that we refer to as The Universe? »
Ever wondered what life must have been like in the days of the cavemen? A lot of us immediately bring up our preconceived mental images of what it may have been like. Some might think of dark, damp caves, some think of well-lit caves with families of cavemen sitting around... »
One snowy December, I was rushing around trying to get some last minute Christmas shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas season just then. It was dark, cold and wet in the parking lot as I was loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated to buy... »
In the Bullshit Department, a businessman can't hold a candle to a clergyman. 'Cause I gotta tell you the truth, folks. When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. »
Presenting new Cameron Lights, an exclusive blend of tobacco with gentle tastes... 
It's October, and you know what that means: Thousands of monsters, ghouls and witches are going to rise from the dead to haunt their enemies and steal food from people. If you don't believe me, you obviously don't know how the government works. Oh, and Halloween is around the corner. »
You awake to the incessant twittering of birds in the cool, crisp morning. A morning heralding the beginning of a day with new promises, despite you knowing otherwise. It starts of slowly of course, trudging towards the bathroom to perform the daily cleansing rituals accompanied by several add-ons, unnecessary in existence, yet a point of ethical obligation embedded into your head by the media. A quick shower, getting dressed, a meal which seems tasteless due to the induced sloth. The body feels as if it's being dragged towards the ground. »
How could millions of Germans approve of and participate in mass slaughter and genocide during the Holocaust? A college professor tries to make students understand by performing a dangerous social experiment. This is a true story which took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, during first week of April 1967. »
The various issues touched upon in the Matrix is that of questioning the reality of reality as we perceive it. It can be seen to have been based upon Plato's Allegory of the Cave, from his famous philosophical work, Republic. This article provides a summary extract of Plato's Cave Parable. »
The gods were not yet done with harassing our protagonist in Attack-Of-The-Evil-Mosquitoes-From-Outer-Space, and continued their goonery the very next day. So the story continues... »
Just now, if you're wondering, I just survived the worst night of my life. The power was out, all night. I tried opening up the doors to let a breeze of cool wind pass through my room. Mistake. Instead of a hint of relief, I got an irate mob of angry mosquitoes that attacked me with such force that I was thrown onto the floor... »
WAY too much has been said about the 'ill-effects' of smoking, what it could 'do' to you and other crap. The effects of smoking have been greatly exaggerated, and it's us smokers who have to face the public sentiment on this. »
Artifical intelligence is the study of intelligent behavior and is also concerned with the development of computer programs which exhibit intelligent behavior. There are two important ways to imbibe human intelligence. One is based on symbolism, known as AI and the other is based on connectionism, known as Neural Networks. »
From the beginning of the computer era, cables have been used to connect computers to each other and to special accessories. Security measures have been developed to secure these cable connections so that information can travel safely. Now, as the time has passed, cables have become a nuisance. Bluetooth is one of the solutions to form a cable-free environment.This paper first gives some background information about Bluetooth, regarding it's characteristics, without explaining the working. Then it discusses the applications and problems associated and possible with Bluetooth. »
It has long been believed that IPRs help foster growth in poor countries by stimulating innovation and creativity, bringing in valuable foreign direct investment and providing access to new technologies. However, the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR) set up by the UK Government has come out with a report opposing this notion. »
