There's a lot of stuff to cover today, so it's probably best if I just roll into it.
Competition for the MacBook Air? Here comes a new Thinkpad!
Today, it seems, we get to take a peek at something so great that words almost fail me. The new Lenovo Thinkpad x300. Gizmodo has all the details. What I find interesting is that this unit is nearly the same size (except for the minimum depth) but has so many more features than the MacBook Air. I'm sure it won't be long until there is some sort of side by side breakdown, but I'm sure the advantages are obvious.
Basically, we're talking about a machine with better resolution (1440x900 vs. 1280x800), faster processor (2.0ghz C2D vs. 1.6Ghz), twice the ram (4GB vs 2GB), more features, including an optical drive, ssd (without the extra $1000?), Verizon / Cingular / Vodafone support, WiMax, GPS, more than 1 usb port, gigabeat ethernet, modem, and a fingerprint reader...
All that under 2.5 lbs.
Two AI Pioneers. Two Bizarre Suicides.
Wired ran a very interesting story about two Artificial Intelligence pioneers, prominent on the internet, who both committed suicide within 4 weeks of each other. The story is well written and features inline citations which makes it easy to follow the piece without having to click all around the internet.
Overall I think the piece is really great, but I'm a bit frustrated with the fact that the title is "Two AI Pioneers. Two Bizarre Suicides. What really happened?" The reason for that frustration is that there really aren't any answers to the questions included in the title. I can't say that I'm surprised, it's a common tactic when titling a piece.
Either way, it's still worth reading.
Transorbital Frontal Lobotomy
I have to admit that there's a lot of things that I don't want done to me. One of those things is a Frontal Lobotomy.
I've always been amazed at some of the strange things that were done in the name of medicine over the years. There's always been crude implements and mis-informed decisions. From leeches (which are making a comeback) to vibrators and everything in between, there's been some bizarre ideas. But, there are few things, I think, that make less sense than removing a portion of the brain.
I'm not saying that we are in some sort of medical utopia now, I'm certain there are many things that we're doing now that, many years from now, doctors of the future will talk of the idiotic and backwards methods of medicine we were performing. "Jesus," they'll say, "I can't believe they used to use defribulators." They'd pause and then say, "If only they had realized the power of sunflower seeds."
NPR ran an interesting story about one man who was lobotomized as a child of 12, and, some 40 years later he decided he wanted to know the truth about how and why it was done.
Choke
Chuck Palahniuk's Choke is happening. I'm eager. I have a lot of questions that I don't think will be answered until I've seen it.
I'll have more thoughts as we get closer to actually being able to see the thing. I've got some reservations about Clark Gregg, but it appears that he has a good deal passion for the project. There seems to be a stylistic decision about the colors, and I'm not 100% certain that I like it. I think it will work out in the end. It's always hard to see a novel made into a film, so as usual, I have doubts, fear and hope.
The Dangers of Free
Here we have a mildly interesting piece about the fact that there is no such things as free. It's always funny to me to see something like this. Here we have someone waking up to a fact that I've pretty much always taken for granted. Certainly that probably makes me sounds like a cynic, because I've always looked for the hook, the catch, the place where I lose out. This is probably because I am a cynic.
After reading the previous paragraph I feel like I'm sounding unnecessarily superior. That's not my intent at all, I'm trying to illustrate the fact that there are some things that I feel everyone knows, and that I am a cynical pessimist, which is why I tend to see the world differently.
Either way, if it turns out that you don't think the world is out to get you, you might find the article interesting, because, as the author points out, the world pretty much is out to get you.
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta's new album, The Bedlam in Goliath is due out Jan. 29th. I've gotten a chance to listen to it a little ahead of schedule, and I have to say that they've still got everything that makes them one of the greatest bands on the planet.
Admittedly, I don't get a lot of what they're trying to do, but I certainly enjoy the process. I enjoy the fact that there's always a lot to try and intake with each track, and each track blends seamlessly with the next. It's just brilliant.
Mike had this to say:
The way Aberinkula goes right in to Metatron is insane. The thing I love about this band is the way they sort of take you on a journey. I know that sounds gay as hell, but it really is sort of like the Mars Volta bus stops in front of your house, you hop on, and you go for a ride for an hour or more. It's just the way every song fits perfectly together and the album never lets up. It has highs and lows, but there's no 3 second gap between singles. It's not 2-minute single, 3-minute single, 2-minute single, etc. It's, "Here's an hour-long opus of the craziest shit you'll ever hear. Enjoy, fucker."
I have to say that he's hit the nail quite on the head, as usual.
Come January 29th the album will be available. Amazon is even offering it on a flash drive, for which I'm eager to see the design and brand information.
I urge you to seek out The Mars Volta and let them take you on a journey. The power and emotion of the music, the driving, pounding, thick and almost sensory devastating tracks are something to savor... over and over again.
With that...
I've blogged past my bed time again... dammit. Oh well, sleep is for the weak, and the dead. Prepare yourself for my return.
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