i am paradox

The end of cocaine ?

" A group of Colombian scientists believe they've found a way to wipe out cocaine production: unleash an army of hungry moth caterpillars. But critics of the proposal say the chance for "ecological mischief" is high.

The plan envisions breeding thousands of beige-colored Eloria Noyesi moths in laboratories, packing them into boxes and releasing them into steamy coca-growing regions of Colombia, the world's main supplier of the drug. The moths, about twice the size of a fly, are native only to the Andean region of South America.

Colombian Environment Minister Sandra Suarez told The Associated Press that the government considers the proposal an "interesting alternative" to existing eradication methods."

This is a really tough decision to have to make. Which choice has more potential for good than bad?  Reminds me of the recent Supreme Court decision that ruled against marijuiana. What should be done?

The End of Cocaine ?

Experts decode Coldplay Cover Art

Been curious about the cover of Coldplay's newest cd?  Well, you aren't the only one.

"New Music Express asked a number of top art experts to figure out what the geometric figure on the cover means. They've concluded that it's a 19th-century telegraphic code known as the Baudot Code, or The International Telegraph Code Number One. It was used in teletype machines in the late 1800s.So, what does it say on the album cover? It says..."

Continue for rest of article: Decoding Coldplay

Porn Sunday

October 9, 2005. Fox, ABC, A Current Affair, and even Bill Hybels are talking about it.

Learn more

Visualcy

"

One of the most reliable instincts of modern people, at times of surpassing transcendence—witnessing the first kiss at a wedding, watching our children's first steps, encountering a family of cheetahs gnawing on a freshly killed gazelle—is to grab a camera. At other places and times people might have written a poem, sung a song, or carved a totem pole. But we, captive to the notion that the only lasting reality is virtual, illuminate our transcendent moments with flashbulbs.

The digital age, where film is effectively free, is an era of even more promiscuous photography. By next year, the Gartner Group predicts, 80 percent of cell phones sold in the United States will include a camera. Users of camera phones don't need to wait for carefully chosen moments. Instead they collect what the rapidly growing photo website Flickr calls a photostream—a river of images both momentous and mundane.

Many centuries after the shift from oral to written culture, we are now well along in the transition to visual culture—where the predominant mode of communication is images rather than words. Just as the shift to writing required the skills we call literacy, so visual culture requires its own skills—for lack of a better word, visualcy."

Continue reading visualcy

Peerflix: trade your dvds

Instead of buying or renting dvds, now you can trade your unwanted ones for those you do want.

"The idea is simple: You sign up at the website, list the DVDs you own and DVDs you want. When another Peerflix member requests your movie, an automated e-mail alerts you and you send the person the film through the mail. Likewise, when you request a movie, another member is alerted, and you should have it in your hands days later. You pay $1 (plus postage) for every exchange.

Unlike the online DVD rental service Netflix, there's no central DVD warehouse -- the movies come directly from other film fans."

Access the site here: Peerflix

And if it sounds too good to be true, be sure to read this review of an unhappy user:

Wired