Tag: links

Links

Iraq war files: British colonel’s scathing attack on ‘arrogant, bureaucratic’ Americans – Telegraph

Interesting stuff — no doubt the Americans would say one-sided, but nonetheless. The more I read about the US military in Iraq the more I get the sense that it had become dysfunctional; a kind of inward-looking, bureaucratic self-serving entity semi-detached from the US government/politics. No doubt there are plenty of thoughtful officers who have learned some hard lessons over the past few years in Iraq and Afghanistan, though. For all I know they're applying them already.

(del.icio.us tags: US Iraq military )

A mesmerizing look at a speaking mouth – Holy Kaw!

'enjoy this mesmerizing, behind the scenes (and skin) look at a mouth talking. Speech researcher Christine Ericsdotter captured the image at 50 frames/second over 20 seconds with a quick-snap x-ray camera.'

(del.icio.us tags: x-rays speech )
French Tart Dough…à la française – David Lebovitz

As someone with bad pastry karma (and hot hands), I just have to try this pastry recipe. '… I was expecting her to say, "You begin by taking some cold butter and work it into the flour. But she started by saying, "You take butter. And you take water. You put them in a bowl. Then you put it in the oven for 20 minutes and let everything boil until…" which, of course, stopped me mid-swallow of my Côte du Rhone. I almost started choking.'

(del.icio.us tags: pastry recipes )

Which Queen? Which speech? Who cares? | Daniel Finkelstein – Times Online

Interesting piece by Danny Finkelstein about just how little attention the voters are paying to politics, most of the time: 'In his invaluable book on the last election campaign, Smell the Coffee, Michael Ashcroft provides the result of polling he commissioned to track the impact of Conservative campaign activity. For two months in the run-up to polling day, voters were asked: “Has there been anything in the news about what the Conservative Party has been saying or doing that has caught your eye this week, whether on TV or radio or in the papers?” Most of the time the proportion who could think of nothing hovered around 90 per cent.'

(del.icio.us tags: politics )

Darwin’s finches tracked to reveal evolution in action : Nature News

More fascinating results from the legendary research by Peter and Rosemary Grant into Galapagos finches. If you haven't read 'The Beak of the Finch' – why not?

(del.icio.us tags: Galapagos birds evolution speciation )
Video: Atul Gawande: New Yorker Festival : The New Yorker

A very interesting talk by Atul Gawande about what medicine can learn from other industries about how good planning can reduce mistakes.

(del.icio.us tags: medicine lectures )
accidental mysteries: Ham Radio & QSL Cards

'So, back in the days, if you were a ham radio operator, you had a few hundred QSL cards printed up and sent them to people you met over your radio. Many operators pasted these all over their room, as a hobby—to show how far away your signal was received. I remember my neighbor proudly showing me cards from far away as Puerto Rico and Hawaii.'

(del.icio.us tags: cards folkart hamradio )