bookofjoe

'76 Reasonable Questions to Ask About Any Technology' — by Jacques Ellul

An intriguing title, no?

Among them: "What does it allow us to ignore?"

The French philosopher offers a bracing counterpoint to those who believe the Singularity can't come soon enough.

I know someone like that....

Peekaru — Snuggie gone wild

This could be the breakthrough I've been looking for.

See, for the longest time I've wanted to take my cat along on my more or less daily runs.

But I haven't been able to figure out how to carry the cat comfortably.

I've searched in vain for some sort of harness or backpack that would let me securely enclose the animal yet allow it to enjoy the journey.

I'm thinking this puppy (as it were) might be the answer to my prayers.

Five sizes, five colors.

$79.95.

[via Blogiversity.org  and Milena]

'Over my dead body. She needs to stop doing drugs and get a grip.' — Stevie Nicks on Lindsay Lohan's plan to play her on film

From Ruth La Ferla's entertaining April 8, 2009 New York Times Styles section story about the singer/songwriter (above, in 1981).

Turns out Ms. Lohan (below, channeling Madonna in a Glamour magazine photo)

hopes to buy the rights to Ms. Nicks' life story and then portray her on the big screen.

The rock icon said that if Ms. Lohan cleans up her act, "Then maybe we'll talk."

Fun with Amazon Kindle

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Lost in the kerfuffle is the fact that you don't need a Kindle to order and read Kindle books.

Witness the fact that TechnoDolt™-moi this past Monday evening learned about John L. Parker Jr.'s self-published 1978 novel "Once a Runner" in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, where a brief review stated that his story about "... a fanatical college miler became a cult classic — in 2007 and '08 it was the most-searched title on the out-of-print directory Bookfinder.com. Rejoice, reading runners and running readers: This week Scribner rereleases the book SI once called 'the most accurate fictional portrayal of the world of the serious runner.'"

I went to Amazon and saw where it was available on Kindle.

What better time to try out my new Kindle reader app on my iPod touch, downloaded (free) from the App store last week?

I went to the Kindle store on my iPod touch, found Parker's book for $9.99 (the dead tree version costs $14.40), clicked the  Amazon 1-Click button and in about two seconds got back a message saying the next time I opened my Kindle reader app, the book would begin downloading.

I opened the app and there was the book, ready to read.

So I began reading it.

Amazing.

I have seen the future and it works very, very well.

Steampunk Mechanical Giraffe

Andrew Chase is at it again.

From the man who brought us the Steampunk Mechanical Elephant comes this addition to the bestiary.

He wrote, "This is my second giraffe (I made the first one to use in "Timmy").

I made it out of transmission parts, electrical conduit, and plumbing pipe. All the joints rotate and lock.

Turning a removable crank on the Giraffe's side raises the neck. Lifting the tail releases a catch and lowers the neck.

It's about 6 feet tall and it took about 80 hours to build. This is the first sculpture I've put up for sale. Right now he's at a crafts fair in Texa. Asking price is $6,000."

Cheap at twice the price.

Tell him I sent you, he's got a great sense of humor.

'The Sacred Orchid' — First kung fu film ever shot on Motorola cellphone?

[via Milena]

YouTube University

Long story short: The site recently gathered together all the video channels of the universities and colleges it's partnered with over the years and put them under the YouTube EDU banner, right here.

There goes the day.

Maybe the rest of your life.

Designer Duct Tape

What took so long?

"Waterproof cloth backed with adhesive tape. Teak, Houndstooth, Paisley or Wicker."

32 feet long x 2 inches wide.

$10.

[via Better Living Through Design and clif]