Robotic Sheepdogs: A Thought Experiment
An excerpt from David McFarland’s book Guilty Robots, Happy Dogs.
Friday procrastination: link love – blogs, the Booker Prize, and Bethlem Royal Hospital
What Kirsty has been reading recently.
Architecting a Verb?
Last Sunday, in the NY Times, I read a book reviewer taking an author to task for her word use. The reviewer stated that “the last time I checked the American Heritage Dictionary, in spite of how computer trade journalists might choose to use the word, “architect” was not recognized as a verb”.
Post-traumatic snowclone disorder
You don’t have to be an MD or a sick puppy to appreciate the enormous family of humorous medical terms, including ‘peanut butter balls’ (phenobarbitol), ‘horrendoplasty’ (an operation without a sunny forecast), or ‘duck’s disease’ (‘being short’, so-named for the non-NBA-ready stature of quackers).
Anathema – Podictionary Word of the Day
The podictionary word of the week is “Anathema.”
American Nicknames Part 2: Hoosier
Anatoly looks at the nickname “Hoosier”.
Inside Oxford: Questions for Casper Grathwohl
A few questions for Casper Grathwohl.
Challenge Oxford!
Test your wordpower against Oxford’s experts.
Kowloon Peninsula, China
Ben’s Place of the Week is Kowloon Peninsula, China.
Candidates, Fortuna, and Political Regimes
Elvin Lim looks at the Presidential candidates.
“Overture . . . Dim the Lights”:
The Fifteen Best Broadway Overtures
A look at the best overtures.
Showers in Raincoats
Why is safe sex so difficult to encourage?
Sexual Pleasure- What a Concept!
What is sexual pleasure? The concept denoted here is a rather slippery creature, weighted down by considerable pop psychological baggage, and subject to cross-cultural and cross-historical variation. Nevertheless, it is desirable to have some definition of this concept, as an anchor for discussion.
Friday procrastination: link love – jellyfish, jalapeños, and Gwyneth Jones
What Cassie has been doing with her week.
Keeping Notes
Ammon reflects on note-taking.
Mildew – Podictionary Word of the Day
The podictionary word of the day is “mildew”.