The Null Device

2002/10/21

Much has been written about the epidemic of obesity in the US: now it turns out that obesity may be America's secret weapon against terrorism, by making it harder for terrorists to blend in.

"The average American today is between fifty and seventy pounds overweight," said Dr. Charles Reardon, author of the study. "That means that a terrorist who hopes to fit in here would have to eat like a pig to do so."

I'm not sure whether this will work against terrorism though; the words "Semtex fatsuit" come to mind. (via Richard)

obesity terrorism the long siege usa 1

10 shot, 2 dead at Monash University; in the History department on the 6th floor of the Menzies building, to be precise. wtf?

crime monash university murder 7

Live recordings of Morrissey's new songs, in MP3 format; enough to tide us over until the new album comes out. (via MeFi)

0

Another review of last week's Mogwai gig. That quiet flute bit certainly did lull one into a false sense of security.

gigs mogwai post-rock 0

An article about synaesthesia, and in particular, the tendency to associate colours with letters. The article gives a table of letters and their colours; are they more or less universal, or specific to one particular case?

I suspect that synaesthesia isn't all that exotic, and most people experience mild forms of it. I for one remember associating letters with colours when I was younger, though the colours were different (A,E and M were red, B was green, C and G were orange-yellow, and H was either red or blue). Some years later, I developed the theory that the mapping came from a set of alphabet blocks I played with when I was an infant.

mind psychology synaesthesia 3

Surely enough, the Greens take Cunningham, their first lower-house seat, and set their sights on the balance of power in Victoria (which they could well get, with the two major parties being what they are right now). This was a kick in the gut to Labor (the first opposition party to lose a byelection in half a century), not to mention to the Democrats (who tried, and failed, to win lower-house seats on many occasions).

australia election greens politics 1