Missing Mary Road

somebody has wayyyy too much time on their hands.

here is an extensive list of movies, with screenshots, over the past 100 years which feature chess. it’s absolutely fascinating how extensive the game is in our culture.

In a country with a long history of corporate problems and financial issues, the inexpensive and flexible nature of open source software is gaining a lot of ground. “Two years ago, New Delhi said the best way to improve computer literacy in India was to adopt open source software in schools. Although Kerala is the first to introduce such a program statewide, 18 of India’s 28 states either are using Linux or have pilot projects for its use in various government departments and schools. The education ministries in most states, and in Delhi the federal ministries of defense, transport, communication, and health, are all using the software on server computers.

i love the concept of open source technologies. i love it even more when its applied to non-software applications. in this case, prosthetics. it’s unreal to know that “state of the art” prosthetics for upper torso’s haven’t really changed since the early 1900′s. i’m glad to see some reform in this area.

richard hammond has just suffered a major brain injury from a car crash in which he was going at close to 300mph. sad news. he is best known for being a presenter on the BBC show, Top Gear.

Violating the Human Rights of Kashmiris seems to be another thing that India and Pakistan have in common. From Human Rights Watch:

In Azad Kashmir, a region largely closed to international scrutiny until a devastating earthquake hit last year, the Pakistani government represses democratic freedoms, muzzles the press and practices routine torture, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Based on research in Azad Kashmir (which means “free Kashmir”) and Pakistan, the 71-page report, “‘With Friends Like These …’: Human Rights Violations in Azad Kashmir,” uncovers abuses by the Pakistani military, intelligence services and militant organizations.

“Although ‘azad’ means ‘free,’ the residents of Azad Kashmir are anything but,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Pakistani authorities govern Azad Kashmir with strict controls on basic freedoms.”

thanks 3qd

classic but worth revisiting.

Great, so now smoker’s got one more thing they will have to read off the back of their cigarette packs.

Smokers may be at greater risk of HIV infection than non-smokers, reveals an analysis of published research issued ahead of print in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. Cigarette smoking has already been linked to a higher than normal chance of contracting other infections generally, including those that have been sexually transmitted.

you all remember the floating bed? well, this dude designed an almost floating bed.

so everyone knows microsoft loves distributing damn encarta cd’s every chance it gets. this dude started to IM with the encarta bot and tried to outsmart it. little did he know he wouldn’t get very far. so he asked him what the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow was? check out the image below to see the response much to his astonishment.

if you don’t get the joke, too bad.

in case anyone is interested, karen armstrong has written an op-ed in the guardian in response to the pope’s speech and comments.

found via ifaqeer.

and in today’s news in religion aside from burning effigy’s,

• World doesn’t end, sect upset – A Kenyan sect that predicted the world would end Tuesday in a nuclear war ended the day in some confusion.
• Sharia could come via democracy: Dutch minister – Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner has provoked an angry response by stating it has to be possible for Sharia Law to be introduced in the Netherlands via democratic means.
• Cult leader’s trail of lies – Cult leader Debra Geileskey has been allegedly travelling on a false passport claiming to be a diplomat from a fictitious country called Caledonia Australis: had postage stamps issued from the fictitious country, used them to send mail to the US.

The Best of Borat. If you’re wondering why the Kazakhstan government is so upset, this 25 minute compilation should give you a pretty good idea. This is also why Sacha Baron Cohen is genius.

the top ten dumbest secret identities ever.

Susan Okie in the New England Journal of Medicine:

In a world with many celebrities but few heroes, Bill Gates has attained heroic status by committing much of his enormous fortune to the advancement of global equity. He and his wife have targeted the causes of health disparities between rich and poor, and their foundation has become a driving force in international aid and in research on AIDS and other diseases. In June, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s likely impact on global health was amplified when Warren Buffett, the world’s second-richest man, announced plans to give most of his fortune to the foundation established by the richest one.

Buffett’s gift, worth about $37 billion, will double the foundation’s endowment from $29 billion to approximately $60 billion, making it by far the world’s largest charitable foundation. The gift will also increase the foundation’s annual giving from $1.36 billion last year to about $3 billion, or approximately $1 per year for every person in the poorer half of the world’s population. By comparison, the World Bank estimates that total health-related aid to developing countries in 2004 (from governments, international organizations, and private sources) was about $12.7 billion.

More here.