News Roundup: Sloth Edition

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Dustin Boyer

This is a video from AfrikaBurn (burning man in africa) that is quite compelling. I have the music on repeat. (via Brad)

Ex-African Dictator Mobuto Sese Seku has a smart and engaging piece on the things internet people are saying about Angelina Jolie’s breasts. Best of all, it’s smug, hilarious and makes fun of people who don’t “get it.” (via Sidney)

I think it’s interesting that a guy who is trying to throw parties (PARTIES!) is going to jail for a decade when a lot of the sketchy wall st people responsible for a massive recession haven’t even seen a trial. (via Alex)

This is a very well written, reasoned and supported article on the resurgence of Ketamine to treat depression. This is not directly relevant to me as I have zero interest in ketamine as a recreational drug and don’t have anything near depression but I still think it’s worth knowing about. Ketamine is schedule III and off label drug usage in the service of saving your life is generally accepted as ethical. If you’re in that place you should know this is an option. (via Josh)

This is a picture of wedding rings pulled off of people at Auschwitz that has been kind of making me a sick to my stomach all day.

Switching gears, this Werner Herzog clip on the Obscenity of the Jungle is still one of the funniest goddamn things on the entire internet.

Finally, a very cute sloth. (via Chloe)

Atul Gawande on the Boston Bombing

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Dustin Boyer

“Talking to people about that day, I was struck by how ready and almost rehearsed they were for this event. A decade earlier, nothing approaching their level of collaboration and efficiency would have occurred. We have, as one colleague put it to me, replaced our pre-9/11 naïveté with post-9/11 sobriety. Where before we’d have been struck dumb with shock about such events, now we are almost calculating about them. When ball bearings and nails were found in the wounds of the victims, everyone understood the bombs had been packed with them as projectiles. At every hospital, clinicians considered the possibility of chemical or radiation contamination, a second wave of attacks, or a direct attack on a hospital. Even nonmedical friends e-mailed and texted me to warn people about secondary and tertiary explosive devices aimed at responders. Everyone’s imaginations have come to encompass these once unimaginable events.”

:: Why Boston’s Hospitals Were Ready by Atul Gawande : via Zoe ::

This is a fast read that also gave me a sense for what “180 injured” really means and just how horrifying it was.

[Email Filter]

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Dustin Boyer

I just thought of this, and I wanted to tell you.

When someone vaguely says that they want to do XYZ project with me…I ask, “when? I am available this day, and that day….but not the 3 days after…” If I’m interested, I genuinely schedule it. And it ACTUALLY gets done. And if I’m not interested, I deal with it right then.

The same goes with just hanging out. I never used to do this. I used to say “yeah, we should do that…” and then I never would. Or I’d say “yup, lets hang out.” Even if I didn’t actually want to.

You are an incredibly dependable and effective person.

You’ve never TOLD me how to be better about this, but you’re so good at it, that I learned how to do it through you. It seems so little, but it’s been totally groundbreaking for me.

So thank you Dustin. I am a far less flaky person than I used to be, and it’s because you showed me how to be better.

I am infinitely grateful to have you as a friend. :)

Understanding Media: Stanley Kubrick and the One Point Perspective

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Dustin Boyer

This is a short video on the One Point Perspective in Stanley Kubrick’s films. I’m not a film nerd so I’m not exactly sure what’s up here. I’ve heard that it’s not practically accepted for films to be made in one point but Kubrick did anyway and it’s obviously awesome. My friend sent me this video a few months ago and it’s radically changed the way I view media.

Kubrick // One-Point Perspective from kogonada on Vimeo.

Red Letter Media on Prometheus

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Dustin Boyer

This is gold. Absolute Gold. If you insist on trying to figure out the plot of the film you could read this.

Doomsday Datapoints

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Dustin Boyer

It’s not even lunchtime and we’ve listened to presentations by Craig Venter on his plans to create biofuels made by microalgae: an acre, he believes, will be able to produce 10,000 litres of oil per year, as opposed to corn, which can produce just 18. He’s just received $300m of investment from Exxon to make it a reality.

I’m amazed by how many of my friends think that the world is rapidly coming to an end. Granted, our progress thus far isn’t workable but as a species we’re getting it figured out.

:: Great Article on Singularity University via Email (Thanks Lana!) ::

It’s worth noting that this article is a tad starstruck and isn’t quite as critical as it should be of Mr. Kurzweil. Also, I think that asteroid mining, while exceptionally cool, is a sexy vanity project for nerdy billionaires. If the goal is resources the answer is the ocean. It’s much easier to visit and we have barely even touched on the resources available there. Except fish, we’ve really fucked that scene up. Sorry dolphins!

++ Update ++

I forwarded this quote to my friend and she replied:
I visited a guy who is working on it at UC San Diego. He said that basically when humans were evolving agriculture we spent 10,000 years breeding wheat from a random grass to the fat stalks we have today, something capable of becoming a staple crop and supporting huge populations, cities, kings, armies, and all that civilization stuff.
Now we have to perform that same genetic engineering feat with generations of algae to get the stuff that will grow petroleum. WE have far more powerful tools to do it like supercomputers. But we only have like 10 years.

here is a crazy picture of a starfish

New Category: Email Filter

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Dustin Boyer

My life is hilarious and awesome. There are certain days where I just want to do a raw feed of the ridiculous things that come through my inbox. My friend Charlie does this but I want to instead make a public commitment that I will keep things anonymous given the uncertain nature of the future of public records.

The following is on the invite for a new years day “carousing” in upstate ny.

OUT OF TOWN GUESTS:
Our guest house, listed below. But to ensure no one attempts sleep, the dance party will be here as well:
[[internet website]]

We do have several visitors traveling from Philly, Delaware, LA, Boston, Rochester. Although we adhere to a strict no-sleeping policy, be aware that it’s going to be cozy. Sleeping bags and/or pillows will be useful. We also have bedrooms and plenty of couches in our house.