In the book "The Four Dimensions of Philosophy", philosophy wonk Mortimer Adler's main thesis is that philosophy encompasses and transcends science as means to knowing. And I don't argue with that, as science alone doesn't answer for its own validity. The answer to the question "what's so special about scientific conclusions" must be answered by philosophy. Adler posited four "dimensions" of philosophy: metaphysical, moral, objective and categorical. The metaphysical dimension entertains questions abou... (...more)

NY Times opinion/blog (not "journalism" per se) A second-order observation from this is: the profession of journalism is suffocating. Journalism in the new millenium is a 1984-y Winston-Smith-ish occupation of rewording press releases. Blogs and opinion-page editorials are breaking the bulk of real, insightful "news". Two factors are at work there: first, the consolidation of newsmedia brands under a handful of megacorporations. That's an eerily fascinating story in itself, one which the mainstream m... (...more)

Lucky Palace Chinese: The only Chinese-American in my area where I can order by intertubes and take delivery when I'm too influenced to lawfully pilot a motor vehicle. Shrimp dumplings: A medium-small shrimp, peeled and wrapped in a dumpling wrapper. Worth $1/shrimp? Debatable. Hot & Sour soup: better than anything else this side of Dixie Hwy, which is way out of reasonable delivery radius anyway. H&S is a pet peeve of mine; if you find red pepper flakes and/or seeds in your hot & sour soup, you can pr... (...more)

Can it really be I haven't read a book worth commenting on since I finished Phosphoros? (edit: no, it can't; I did in fact finish Foucault's Pendulum around the time I finished Phosphoros.) I wanted a book to read at the airport and on the plane, and a half-price copy of Fifty Shades of Grey jumped out at me. Figure 4h30m flight time, not all of which was spent reading, plus almost certainly not another 3h waiting in airports. I covered 395 of 415 pages in that time. Call it a page a minute. It wouldn't... (...more)

jerkbag: 21,700
jerkstick: 3,870
jerkass: 287,000
jerkhead: 34.400
jerkface: 1,010,000
jerkriot: 162
jerkwaffle: 3,330

"Jerkwaffle" produced more hits than "jerkriot"?!? really? Even quote-wrapping search terms, 12 hits for jerkriot vs. 200 for jerkwaffle. Words fail me.